


Just Another Kid

by thecattydddy



Series: Just A Hero's Story [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, Genetically Engineered Beings, Multi, Scientifically Created Children, Superfamily, Superfamily (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-09 21:33:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 26,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4364975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecattydddy/pseuds/thecattydddy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years into the future, a once solid team of Avengers has fallen apart, Captain Rogers is dead, Tony has buried himself in his sorrow, SHEILD has fallen and most of the team have gone their separate ways. After discovering just how far the scheme to keep him protected goes, Peter Parker finally finds out the identity of his real parents are actually famous super heroes and is reunited with his father. At first, they enjoy a nice little family life, but Peter has a responsibility he can't just run away from. When disaster strikes, will he be putting his new family at risk as well or will they gain something from the experience none of them thought could have been possible?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's a lot of everything in this fic and then some. Mostly the things I was looking to put in here are the following. Firstly, I wanted some Superfamily minus Steve. Like, some good old fashioned bonding over their mutual loss. Secondly, I wanted an older Peter to come and join the Superfamily and see the dynamic it would bring. Finally, I wanted Principal Coulson. Everything else that happened was the result of me watching like five million episodes of the Ultimate Spiderman and reading the Marvel Database wiki thing. It's been a while since I was in this fandom, so please don't be too cruel as I slowly creep back in here. 
> 
> Any comments or compliments or critiques are welcome and thank you very much for reading! n.n~~

Peter had always known there was something weird about him. At first, it'd been simple things. He almost never experienced sickness, even at very early stages in his life when such a thing would have been expected. If that hadn't been enough to set off alarms, he found himself unusually strong for his size. Had he been a fighter – Or even had a basic interest in the various sports teams that his school offered – there could have been potential there for someone with a lot more bang for his buck. In his middle school years, there'd been a party and someone had thought to break into their parents alcohol cabinets and as the drinks were passed around, he really had no reason to stop himself from trying some. But, as fate would have it, no matter the amount he consumed his friends dropped like flies around him but he was unaffected – Barely even feeling lightheaded. Of course, that hadn't spared him a good licking from his Uncle Ben.

This, however, had always seemed normal to Peter. While he had some inkling that he was different, it had never been prevalent. It had never really _mattered_.

And all of a sudden, at fifteen, he'd found himself with powers – _real_ powers that belong solely to _him_ and the little things he'd remembered as a child had seemed insignificant. He'd been overcome by so much in so little time that those things had slipped from his mind completely. And then, if that hadn't been enough, when the truth behind all those things could have surfaced – A chance to learn who he truly was – instead he'd faced a wild goose chase, featuring people who could never have been his parents – Who'd died years before he'd been born.

And he'd come to learn just how many lies he'd faced. Slowly, like paint chipping away from an old and decaying wall, the truths around his reality began to take shape. The couple he'd come to call his aunt and uncle apparently had no relation to him. Uncle Ben's grandmother, so Aunt May claimed, had been a woman admired and revered in her times and had even known the great Captain America before he'd fallen under the ice. A handful of his teachers had revealed themselves as agents, under a top secret mission that they refused to admit once he'd uncovered it – Presumably for his own _safety_.

And, brick by painful brick, he learned the true intentions of so many people. Only his peers seemed to be spared this gathering and there was one in specific that Peter knew he could seek out and ask for help from. One who had the resources he needed and wouldn't rat him out.

“There's no match, Peter,” Harry stated, handing him a file that bore the news he himself spoke in so many words.

Peter couldn't quite speak, opening the file and gazing upon the conformation he should have checked long ago. He'd been so _blind_ to think that all these clues left _specifically_ for him to find would have been anything but a trap. He'd so badly wanted to know the truth he hadn't even _considered_ it all be a ruse.

“Who were they?” Harry inquired, giving the silent Peter a significant look.

“Well, according to several sources...” Peter took a deep breath, unsure if he wanted to say it out loud. It was like finally admitting that all the time he'd dedicated to the search – All the answers he'd sought after – They meant nothing. Even if he knew it to be true, it was hard to accept, “The one man was my father.”

“Your father?” Harry widened his eyes, confused, “Well… Maybe it has to do with your… Condition, Pete. Maybe things got changed around and-”

“That would make sense, wouldn't it?” Peter chuckled, bitterly, “You'd think they planted that one, too. Everything turned out _so_ perfectly. The amount of planning that probably went into this… I couldn't even imagine.”

“Pete...” Harry's expression became concerned, but it was obvious he wasn't sure what to do in this situation.

“I know, Harry,” Peter sighed, leaning back in his seat and sliding his hand through his bangs in exasperation, “But they wouldn't go through all this effort for just _anyone_ , right? Obviously, whoever my real parents were, they had to be important. Whatever they did put me in so much jeopardy that becoming _Spiderman_ wasn't enough to tell me the truth.”

“Peter… Maybe there's a reason that they did all of this,” Harry sat down on a nearby chair as well, leaning forward a bit. “With everything that's happened in the last few years. The number of bad guys that show up have only increased in difficulty. The death of… Anyways, it's a lot going on and maybe it's not _safe_ to pursue this. At least not right now.”

“It's not like this is new,” Peter laughed, “We've both had a lot coming at us for a while, Harry.”

“I suppose so,” Harry let out a small smile, moving to rest his back against the chair.

“Well, whoever they are...” Peter looked out the window, watching a bird fly across his vision, “I hope that my parents are at least doing something good, right now.”

“I'm sure they're heroes, Pete.”

A few floors away, a young woman working at a computer excused herself for a coffee break, removing her headphones and swatting a coworker, playfully, when he asked if she was going to meet with someone. They laughed and she let herself out of the room, the badge clipped to her belt swinging slightly as she moved.

Pulling into an empty hallway, she made her way to a closet, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching before she entered. Positive that she was alone, an earpiece was pulled from a pocket inside her jacket and she turned it on, waiting a moment to allow the thing to boot up.

“Hello? This is Agent Blake. I'm reporting in on Project Lehigh.”

“Mame, all projects prior to Incident C-V 215 have been cancelled.”

“That's impossible. This entire operation is still in full effect.”

“We have no records on any projects prior to Incident C-V 215.”

“Put me through to someone else.”

“Agent, I don't have the auth-” She furrowed her brow in confusion as the other was cut off, only to have a second voice come back through.

“Agent Blake,” the other voice said, “This is Agent Coulson. What is your update?”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what I discovered? As long as I don't ever post something, I can write a ton of chapters super easy. Fortunately for you, there are probably about ten or so chapters already written. Unfortunately, I can't promise any more after that.

“Tony.” Bruce watched in exasperation as the billionaire downed another drink, slamming the glass down on his work bench before continuing with his tinkering. All morning, he'd been here, trying to get Tony to see reason and put down his toys for a few moments. The attempt, which really was part of a much longer process, hadn't been working thus far. Over the course of the last few months, Tony had turned down everything from press conferences and women to tasks sent to him from… Whatever SHEILD was calling themselves, these days. Nothing seemed to have motivated him to leave the dark and alcohol consumed life he was now leading.

“Master Stark,” a voice broke into their conversation, making both look up even though the source of the sound was not visible to them.

“What is it, JARVIS?”

“It seems that someone has breached the security system. I've estimated a good thirty seconds before they reach you.”

“ _What_?” Tony is suddenly out of his seat, looking more alive than Bruce had seen him in a while, “JARVIS, I thought I told you to keep people out!”

“I am sorry, Sir, but they overrode my systems-”

“Well, then who the fuck is it?”

“Hello, Mister Stark. Banner.”

The voice, unfortunately, was one that he could easily recognize and Tony let out an exasperated groan. Turning to look at the new arrival with the most disgusted look he could manage and his teeth bared, he spoke, “Agent.”

“Hello, Coulson,” Bruce replied, softly.

“What the hell do you want?” If it wasn't already obvious, Tony didn't really like having people in his office – Especially people who worked for Fury – and while Phil Coulson had grown on him a little, it certainly wasn't enough to grant him free access to his very private workspace. If he was being honest, Bruce shouldn't have even been there either, but… Well… Tony's gotta admit he's fond of the little dork.

“I've got a mission for you,” Phil explained, smiling politely. The act seemed to only piss Tony off more and Bruce vaguely wondered whether it would be a good idea to leave, but didn't dare move incase he brought attention to himself and suddenly was roped into this _mission_ as well. One could never be careful with Fury and his team of agents.

“Haven't you guys got the memo that I'm not interested based on the fact I've ignored all your other little projects?” Tony demanded, not even trying to hide the annoyance and snark in his voice. There was no way Phil came in here thinking this would be an easy in-and-out job and, if he did, Tony was more than prepared to show him how wrong he'd been.

“This isn't your normal _project_ ,” Phil let himself have a satisfied smirk, adding a little fuel to Tony's irritation. He held out a memory card to the billionaire and Tony looked back at him like he was insane.

“I'm not being your lapdog. I think I've earned my retirement by now,” Tony stated, his lips pressed into a firm line.

“Do you remember Project Lucina?” Coulson inquired, sounding more curious than anything. Tony raised an eyebrow, not quite sure if the other was serious or not.

“You mean the project I was helping you with before I learned what you were using it for?” Tony clarified, “The one you said would be to help young infertile and same-sex couples produce children before I discovered you were using it to breed super soldiers from various heroes DNA samples? _That_ Project Lucina?”

“Oh, so you _do_ remember,” Phil smiled, almost pleased. With every word, Tony had to keep himself from putting a fist between those pretty, white teeth. He'd seen the other stutter and trip over his words when it came to Captain America, but every other meeting had been all snark and absolutely no way to wiggle his way out of anything. He'd have been a valued member of Tony's circles if the bastard didn't already answer to a bigger annoyance, “Well, it just so happens that we ran a few secret test runs while the project was still open. We had intended to use it as a way to persuade you to stay on the project, since you would eventually discover the truth anyways. Unfortunately, you left before we could break the good news and, well, we wanted to keep it for a rainy day.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony, despite himself, couldn't ignore that. Those had been brighter days and, while he wouldn't exactly have liked giving up the happy moments that'd happened since then, he wished more than anything that the clock could have turned back to then. The dark shadow that fell over his features was impossible to miss, but Phil ignored it as he continued to explain.

“It was no mystery to us, of course, that you and the Captain were _very close_ , Mister Stark,” Phil said, making the expression Tony wore darken further. Even Bruce was beginning to feel a bit antsy, but Phil remainded the same, “We had imagined that the both of you were a little more intimate than either were letting on and, by the time you both made it official, well… That had only cemented our theories.”

“ _What_ are you _talking about_?” Tony repeated, jaw clenched and a snarl forming on his features. A moody Tony was not a pleasant one to deal with, but a furious Tony? That was a storm not even gods would take on. He knew from experience.

“We preformed the experiment using samples we'd acquired – Both yours and the good Captain's,” Coulson's expression grew serious then, leveled directly at Tony, “And it produced results, Mister Stark. The full details are here for you.” For a second, Tony stayed in stunned silence, the anger drained from his face in shock. In the next, he was grabbing the memory card and placing it into workspace, unable to stop himself. If it was a joke or some kind of ruse, Phil would feel the full force of his wrath. There would be no place him or his employer could find him. But then again, Phil had idolized the Captain… Surely he couldn't have so easily have gotten over it that he could joke about something like this? If there was even just the smallest hint of the man he'd loved left in the world… Just the tiniest blip…

When the memory card loaded, an image of a young man came up, perhaps sixteen in age. Bruce, having remained silent this whole time, could help but stare with wide eyes at the boy, drawn in by the whole event that had unfolded before him.

Tony brought his fingers up, gently caressing the light projection. He could deny how much that face reminded him of himself, especially the eyes, but there was a hint of something else, too, and Tony nearly chocked out a sob when he recognized the something else as Steve. There was no one else it could have been.

“What's his name?” Tony inquired, softly. Phil smiled, kindly this time.

“His name is Peter Parker.”

Tony's vision blurred a bit with tears, but he didn't let them go. Not yet. He let out a small laugh, sounding both broken and relieved at the same time, “That's a stupid name. I bet you came up with it.”

“I thought the Captain would like it.”

“Ha! I'm sure he would've! Stupid bastard probably would have suggested that exact name!” Bruce moved a little closer to remind Tony he was still there without actually getting into his personal bubble and Phil wordlessly showed himself out. Tony had the information and the seed had been planted. When he was ready, he would call. Phil doubted it would take very long, now.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Peter had experienced when he'd told Aunty May was guilt. They had spent so long looking after one another that this was almost like betraying her. Even if she had kept the truth from him for so long, she had always showed him love like he was her own when no one else had. That, of course, had been a feeling she quickly scared him out of by reminding him that she might be older, but she was still an agent. That had gotten them to share a laugh and she'd reminded him that, no matter where he was or what he found out, she would always love him like her own. He'd hugged her for that and returned the sentiment with tears in his eyes.

Now, he stood on the doorstep with a backpack filled with a few valuables and necessities and looked out, not quite sure he was ready to leave yet. While answers were waiting for him just beyond this door, he wasn't positive this was something he'd ever be able to return to.

Aunty May had sat him down and explained to him everything she knew. It had been more than him, incidentally, but not enough. She had warned him that, if he sought after the truth, the time would be right and he could know, but there would be no coming back. The mission would be concluded and agents who'd been undercover would go home, including her. The choice was his.

At the time, he'd been eager to move on, but now he wasn't so sure. Staring out into the street and feeling the knot twist in his stomach, he was beginning to think he'd made the wrong choice.

“Peter. You're going to miss your train,” Aunty May's voice was soft and kind and he almost felt himself breaking right then and there. His hands trembled a little and he glanced back at her with a wobbling lip. She gave a soft smile and pulled him to herself, carding her fingers through his hair as a sign of comfort.

“I'm going to miss you, Aunty May,” he whispered, burying his face in her shoulder. She felt her own eyes tear up a bit, but before she could let herself get weepy, she pulled away from him and pressed a piece of paper into his hand. He glanced down at it with confusion and then back up at her.

“It's my number,” she explained, affectionately, “You can call me there any time, Peter, and I will answer. I only ask that you don't share it around – It's somewhat of a secret number and I would hate for it to fall in the wrong hands.”

“Aunty May I...” Peter looked down at the numbers scrawled across the paper, in a handwriting he'd come to associate her with the past sixteen years of his life. He looked back to her one more time, unable to stop the tears this time, “I… I love you.”

“Oh, Petie,” she cooed, pulling him close once again, “I love you, too… And I'm very proud of you.”

“Thanks, Aunty May,” he sniffled, trying to pull himself together as he wrapped her up in one last hug.

“Oh and Peter?”

He moved away enough to see her face, the slightly joking twinkle in her eye covering up the sadness, “Yeah?”

“Try not to worry your parents with all your antics as much as you worried me.”

He laughed. “No promises, Mame.”

* * *

“You look anxious, Peter.” The boy in question glanced up, furrowing his brow at the agent sitting across from him. In reality, he should have probably expected something like this, but he still was having trouble coming to terms with the fact his principle was actually a secret agent and they were both driving to some unknown location in a _limo_. All of this seemed not only completely unimaginable, but it only made the whole _meeting his parents_ thing twenty times weirder.

“Who? Me? Nah,” Peter chuckled. His nervous tone gave away everything and Phil couldn't help the fond smile.

“It's quite expected, really. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Peter didn't answer right away, unsure what to say. Instead, he stared down at his hands and let his mind wander.Finally, after a moment, he looked back up and said, “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“You just did,” Phil pointed out, earning a look from Peter.

“You know what I mean.”

Phil laughed, waving his hand as a sign for him to continue, “Like father, like son. Yes, of course. Ask away.”

Peter pointed ignored the first comment, not quite ready to face it, “Why now?”

“You'll need to be more specific.”

“Why are you guys caving and letting me do this _now_?” Peter clarified, glaring.

“You were finally beginning to see past our story,” Phil replied, calmly, “It would have been difficult to keep you from finding your own answers from then on, so we decided to just let you have them… Besides, your father needed a little… Incentive.”

“Incentive?” Peter's eyes narrowed, dangerously, “I thought you guys were supposed to be keeping me safe? Are you telling me you've been using me as some kind of hostage?”

“On the contrary, that would imply someone besides us knew where you were,” Phil replied, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes, “Or even who you were. In truth, your parents had no idea you existed. Even now, Daddy doesn't know more than your name and your face. In fact, there are some very key details about you we've kept from him. For the sake of your identity, of course. You're welcome.”

“Yeah, uh...” Peter rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly. While he had somewhat assumed the agents had known about his gig, it was still a shock to hear it in so many words, “What about my mom? You haven't said anything about her.”

There was silence for a moment and Peter couldn't help but glance up. Phil sighed, settling his hands into his lap before looking back to him, “Well, the easy answer is that you don't have a mom, Peter. In fact, you never did.”

“Um… Come again?” Peter raised an eyebrow, not quite sure he heard the other right. He'd come to believe in a lot of stuff while he was playing super hero around the five boughs of New York, but this was a whole other kind of crazy.

“Sit back, Parker. It's going to be a very long ride.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

Tony paced back and forth, fixing his cuffs for the hundredth time. It'd been weeks since he'd last put on a suit, nitinol or otherwise, and the fact that this situation was important enough to pull him out of that funk was making everything worse. He was beginning to consider calling the whole thing off when a voice cut through his fretting.

“They're here, Sir.”

“JARVIS, I've changed my mind!” Tony announced, panic coursing through him like a poison. This was too much. He wasn't ready to be a father. He couldn't be responisble for someone else. The last time that'd happened, he'd…

“It's too late, Sir. I'm afraid Master Coulson has already made his way into the building.”

“Well, have him unmake his way in here! I'm not doing this anymore! I-” Tony's words were suddenly cut short by the door swinging opening, followed by the appearance of two people in its frame. The first was Agent Phil Coulson, who leveled him with a no nonsense glare even before Tony realized they were there. The second was a boy – Only a year or two into high school – who hadn't even acknowledged his presence, yet. The kid was obviously too fascinated with the building around him. Being inside Stark's work office had been a way to ensure he didn't freak out before they even got into the door. The kid probably thought he was the son of some fancy scientist who worked for him or something. No doubt this would come as a surprise.

Peter could barely comprehend where he was. Instead of trying to wrap his head around the information Agent Coulson had given him in the car, Peter took in the vast science that was just beyond his fingertips. He'd been given sneak peaks into _Oscorp_ technology because of Harry, but if his father – Fathers, maybe? - was some kind of employee of _Stark Industries_ , well that would make him the happiest kid alive. Phil had directed him silently to their meeting, not even giving him the tiniest show of emotion, but Peter couldn't have kept the wonder out of his eyes if he tried.

All the way to the meeting room, Peter continued on his adventure, his smile not falling until the second his eyes landed on the person in the room they were destined for – The only other person in the room. Almost immediately, his face fell in shock and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

Tony had promised himself he wouldn't cry, but the moment the boy's eyes landed on him, the man was reminded so much of Steve that a choked noise made itself known, anyways. Any doubts he had about this drained out of him as he swore right then and there that he'd hold onto this kid and never let him out of his sights, ever.

Doing his best to compose himself, Tony straighten his suit one last time and put on a CEO smile, moving towards the pair with his shoulders thrown back, “Oh, so you actually decided to make it, Agent? I was beginning to think you'd forgotten.”

“We're right on the dot, Mister Stark,” Phil reminded him, easing up a bit on his glare.

“You're never on time. It's harder to play your fancy entrances that way.”

“I assumed this meeting would be startling enough.”

“Yeah, I bet you did,” Tony scoffed, turning his attention to Peter, who hadn't dared moved since he'd laid eyes on Tony. He was beginning to wonder if maybe this whole thing was just a dream, “Doesn't talk much, does he? I thought you told me he was going to be a handful? If he stays like this the whole time, I highly doubt that. Peter Parker, is it? My name is Tony Stark. In case they haven't told you this, yet... I'm your father.”

It wasn't until he was shaking hands with the man that the truth finally began to settle in, his face lighting up like a birthday cake and Tony knew he was damned already with how this kid wore his emotions on his face with no filter, “Mister Stark, Sir! I'm a huge fan of yours! I never thought I'd actually meet you in person, Sir! I mean, I thought maybe I'd have a pretty cool dad if he even so much as _worked_ for you, but I… I...”

And just like that, the color drained from his face and the moment of pride Tony was experiencing shattered as both him and Phil knew the realization Peter had come to. The relationship between Tony and Steve Rogers had never been a secret. Barely after they had decided to be official, Tony had shared it with the world – Never one to keep things to himself. While Steve had never really liked the attention it brought, he'd understood the price of being with Tony. Everyone in the world, let alone New York City, knew about them being together.

And everyone knew how they'd ended, as well.

“Holy shit,” Peter muttered, his entire person seemed to droop, even his grip growing weak. He wasn't sure how to word a question he already knew the answer to, but was unable to stop himself. The words broke Tony's heart no less had he been unprepared for them, “So… This means my other dad is…?”

“Steve, yeah,” Tony nodded, remaining neutral faced. He had been this composed even _thinking_ about Steve since his death, but something in him knew that breaking down would cause Peter to flip and watching those big brown eyes fill with tears would be like Steve crying. That wasn't something he was ready to deal with, “Captain America, I guess is what most people called him, but he'd always insist on loosing the title if you talked to him for more than five minutes. It would have been humbling, had I not been immune to that kind of thing.”

Peter laughed, but it was a broken laugh, his voice cracking with the sound. He didn't cry, just sort of stared blankly ahead, looking straight through Tony and even through the wall beyond. From the records, this kid had been searching for his parents a long time and to go through so much work and come so far only to be told you were too little too late – That would have been a little more than disappointing. Phil, sensing his cue, silently slipped away to give them their privacy.

Before he really could think about it, Tony had the boy pressed against himself, a hand to the back of his head and keeping Peter's face against his shoulder. Despite the fact that they were practically strangers, Peter didn't resist the hug; Let himself be consoled by actions since Tony found himself speechless. It already took everything in him not to break down entirely.

“I'm sorry, Peter,” Tony's voice was shaky, holding the boy a little tighter as his vision finally began to blur, “I know it's not enough, but I'm sorry.”

Peter's reply was muffled and spoke so much about the kid. It both lit Tony's heart with pride and crushed him the way Peter's voice could hold so much clever sarcasm and still be so broken. It reminded him too much of himself, “Don't sweat it, Pops. Really. You're plenty more than I thought I'd get.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a kinda plot in mind now and also there's nothing quite like making Peter suffer, so... Expect that, too.

“What'cha playing, Kid?” Peter looked up from hanging over the back of the couch, catching Tony leaning next to him and keeping his eyes on the screen in front of them. While it wasn't like hanging off his wall like he liked, it was better than nothing. Unfortunately, he still had a secret identity to keep – Even from his own father. At first, Peter hadn't been sure if he should keep his secret from Tony, but he'd remembered how insistent Phil had been about it. Surely he'd known they were going to meet another superhero, so there must have been a reason. He hadn't been out the past few days due to trying to figure out his way around the house and learn his new father's schedule. It was making him antsy, at best. The only real relief was the incredibly cool stuff he'd acquired. It didn't matter that Peter couldn't even _think_ of anything else he could ever want because Tony had that covered, too. It was like the guy had an easier time giving material things than actually saying how he felt. With the exception of their encounter that first day, a ruffle of his hair or the occasional accidental touch when they were next to one another, Tony wasn't physically affectionate, either. While it was a little difficult for Peter, having grown up with the constant coddling of his Aunt May, he understood that Tony was trying his best and appreciated it.

“Some hero game,” he replied, returning his attention to the battle he was engaged in with some NPC, playing as the amazing Spiderman, of course, “It was in the box you brought home and I used to play it all the time with Harry.”

“Harry?” Tony questioned, curiously. Despite how easy it had been for Peter to just up and move into Tony's house and life, he was often reminded about how little the man actually knew about him. And, despite how public his life was and how big of a fan Peter had been, how little he knew in turn. Now was one of those times.

“He's my best friend,” Peter explained, cringing as he was taken out by the NPC and watched with mild discomfort as his character lay on the ground, with the words “ _Game Over_ ” flashing omnisciently on the screen. The title card came up after a second and he, once again, decided to play as himself.

“You a fan of him as well?” Tony questioned, gesturing to the television.

“Yeah… Ha. Something like that,” Peter forced out a neutral reply, trying to keep the panic off his face, “Don't you? I mean… He's definitely got a lot of skill and a pretty cool persona, right? Kind of totally awesome, plus he doesn't take orders from anyone – Just goes out there and totally does what's right.” There was definitely gonna be some serious problems between them if Tony decided he thought Spiderman was a joke, for obvious reasons.

Much to his relief, Tony laughed instead, “You don't have to get all defensive. Personally, I think the kid has a lot of promise. He's a little rough around the edges, but… Aren't we all, at first? Unfortunately, that one newspaper doesn't exactly give him a good reputation.”

“ _The Daily Bugle_? Yeah, tell me about it,” Peter grumbled, a pout settling on his face. He would have denied it, but it was definitely there, “I used to work for Jameson, a while ago, but things didn't really stick. I've never seen one guy so angry for no reason… Well, I mean, that's not entirely true but this guy made the top of the list.”

“That's interesting. Only sixteen and already been hired _and_ fired,” Tony smirked, amused. His boy had grown up so much, already. He was almost sad he hadn't been there to see it all, “At this rate, you're gonna turn out to be exactly like me.”

“You think so?” Peter's eyes widened in excitement, looking directly at Tony from his upside down position on the couch. Even if he could keep himself from freaking out too much on a day to day basis, getting actual praise from one of his idols was impossible to suppress – Even if that idol turned out to be your dad.

“It's not as great as it seems, Kid,” Tony chuckled, sliding away from the couch and walking off to the attached kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee, “I worked hard to get here and there were plenty of rough patches.”

“I think I can handle a couple of those,” Peter beamed, brightly. He rolled off the couch, taking a seat on the floor and keeping his eyes directly on Tony as he poured his coffee, “You really think I could be like you, someday, Tony?” The name still sounded a little funny in his mouth, but calling him Mister Stark had been blatantly rejected by the man, so they'd settled for being on a first name basis and letting things be as casual as either of them were comfortable with.

Tony looked over at the sound of his name, his heart melting a little at how excited the kid looked about it. He had remembered his dad once telling him how easily excited Steve had been back when he'd first started out and Tony decided it probably looked a hell of a lot like this. He walked back over, ruffling the other's hair as he passed him.

“If that's what you really want, Peter,” Tony laughed, settling on the couch. He was having trouble coming to terms with someone really wanting to be like him, but who could deny a face like that, “Say, is this game multiplayer?”

Peter raised an eyebrow, a challenging smirk settling across his face as he dug out a second controller from behind a pile of games, “You think you can take me, Old Man?”

“Watch it, boy. I've been playing games for longer than you've been alive,” Tony warned, jokingly. He accepted the controller and, before they knew it, they were several rounds in and JARVIS was saying it was about time for them to consider dinner options.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The problem with fandoms that have several canon universes is that technically anything can happen and then you have this huge problem where characters have conflicting personality traits depending on the verse you're pulling from. Eventually, if you're like me, you get to the point you're just like F#@! it and do whatever the hell you want.
> 
> I would like to clarify that that has nothing to do with this chapter, specifically; I'm just ranting in general.

“Master Peter.” The boy stopped, frozen in the windowsill as JARVIS' voice interrupted his escape. As helpful as the program could be most of the time, now he was really beginning to regret him. It'd been too long since he'd been out and even a spider could get clusterphobic, after a while. It was just going to be a quick run – Out and back before Tony even came up from his lab to go to bed – but, of _course,_ JARVIS had to go and be keeping an eye on him.

“JARVIS, it's not what it looks like,” Peter insisted, his tone hushed even though there was no way Tony would hear him all the way up here. Peter pulled his bag a little higher on his shoulder, unable to keep from fidgeting under pressure. It was one thing to lie to a baddie and a whole new thing, entirely, to lie to your butler… Nanny… Computer thing.

“It looks like you are sneaking out of your room by the window, Master Peter,” JARVIS answered. If he wasn't an AI system, Peter would have sworn he was being sarcastic, “Which, may I remind you, is on the twelfth floor. You have no rope or other means to climb down in a conventional way and a fall at this height would ensure several serious injuries, if not death. I assure you your father would not be too pleased if I didn't warn him about that.”

“JARVIS, you can't!” Peter hissed, panic striking him, “Look, I can explain. I just… Need to go out for a bit. I'll be back before anyone knows something happened – Not a scratch on me, you just _can't_ tell Tony.”

“And why is that, Master Peter? I'm sure your father would be understanding,” JARVIS pointed out.

“Oh, yeah. Real understanding that his son wanted to leave in the middle of the night to fight crime,” Peter grumbled, under his breath, “Probably escort me right out the front door with a proud smile and a new spideybike.”

“Sir...” JARVIS called him out of his muttering, “I can hear everything you are saying – Not to mention I have also run a serious of routine scans on you and discovered some very vital information. Considering the information had no obvious health issues and the fact I calculated that you would not be very appreciative if I passed this along, I've kept it from Master Stark, but if you intend to put yourself at risk, I will have no choice except too-”

“No, no! JARVIS, look… It's just a routine baddie, okay?” Peter was practically pleading, with a machine no less. What had his life come to? “I promise I wont get into any trouble. I really wont.”

“Perhaps, Young Master, we can come to some sort of compromise,” JARVIS suggested. Again, if he wasn't a computer, Peter would have almost thought him to be amused, “Your father has requested I keep him updated on if any serious change in condition occurs. If you were to take me with you, I can alert him if you become seriously hurt. In return, I need not tell him that you are leaving as you will be supervised. That is what one might call a compromise?”

“Um… Okay, I guess I'm cool with that,” Peter shrugged, hopping down from the windowsill as quietly as possible, “But… I haven't got anything that can do that.”

“No need to fear, Sir. There are several spare earpieces in the kitchen that belong to your father. He used to keep them there for when he accidentally dropped them in his coffee, but he has since stopped using them. Surely, he wouldn't notice if one were to go missing. I can perform rudimentary body scans as needed and keep in touch with you for any reason necessary.”

“Oh.” Peter couldn't help the slightly excited look in his eyes at that, dropping his backpack to the ground and creeping across the room, placing his hand on the doorknob. “Is he busy? Think I could get in and out without being seen?”

“He seems to have locked himself in his lab, Sir. You will be more than capable of going to the kitchen and back, though I would suggest not drawing attention to yourself with loud noises.”

“This is almost as cool as if I was breaking into Stark Tower, myself,” Peter grinned, gently pushing open the door and easily crawling up the wall. He found himself on the ceiling, wordlessly moving down the hall.

“This is as close as you can possibly get, Sir, considering security systems would detect and report your movement, immediately,” JARVIS answered, Peter not even bothering to pause, “I cannot advise trying such a thing without my or your father's knowledge. While I'm under strict orders not to let any harm come to you, I can assure you the result would not be pleasant.”

“I'll keep that in mind, Big guy,” Peter rolled his eyes. As cool as a house that doubled as a butler was, there was really nothing enjoyable about having to take orders from said house. Even if those orders were given in the form of _advice_.

Just as Peter was about to close in on the kitchen, a feeling started up in the back of his mind; Almost like a tingling sensation. The feeling – Which Peter had come to label his _spideysense_ – was usually a sure sign of danger and stopped him in his tracks, keeping him hidden in the dark shadows of the hallway leading to the kitchen.

Seconds later, a tired looking Tony appeared in that very kitchen. Yawning, Tony approached the coffee machine and leaned against the counter. He looked directly down the darkened hallway, trying to squint to get a good look. Maybe it was just him, but he kind of felt like he was being watch and not by his friendly neighborhood AI system, either. Just as he was sure he caught the sight of something moving, JARVIS startled him out of his concentration.

“Sir. Would you like me to make you some coffee?”

“Huh? Oh… Uh… Yeah, JARVIS. That's be great.” Tony rubbed his eyes, allowing the sound of the coffee maker nearby to calm his nerves. Obviously, the lack of sleep was making him jumpy. Just to be sure, though…

“JARVIS? There isn't anyone unaccounted for in the house?” Tony inquired, glancing up at the ceiling.

“Of course not, Sir.” Tony let out a breath, closing his eyes to try to calm himself down. He was being paranoid. Of course he was. His tower was impenetrable… Except to Agent Coulson, apparently.

“And Peter? How's he doing?” There was a pause, one that wouldn't have seemed out out place, if Tony hadn't programmed JARVIS, himself. He frowned, but before he could open his eyes, the pause was over.

“Actually, Sir, he's coming down the hallway as we speak.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter's off to fight the big bads.

Peter watched his dad for a moment before moving farther down the hallway, silent as a deadly assassin. About a good ten feet down the hall, he pulled out his phone and pressed the first button to activate his speed dial. The phone wasn't anything fancy, but Tony had programmed a couple numbers into his speed dial, assuring him they would be useful if he ever needed anything. The first number, Tony had explained, was for JARVIS.

_“Any time you need something,” He'd said, still tapping away into Peter's phone, “He's far better than calling an operator for a number or asking Siri for a recommendation. He'll answer you better than either ever will and actually has a personality while doing it. Just hit the first number and he'll pick up, automatically.”_

_“Thanks, but I don't really use either of those things, in the first place,” Peter admitted._

_Tony just smiled, amused, “Who knows. Maybe he'll come in handy for something.”_

And how right Tony had been, though if he knew when that number would come into use when he'd put it into Peter's phone, he might have reconsidered. The AI system picked up before the first ring finished.

“Master Peter. I would advise retreating until your father has left the room.”

“I've got a plan,” Peter whispered, phone pressed to his ear as he climbed down the wall. He began pulling his shoes off the moment his feet touched the ground, “Where exactly are the earpieces, in the kitchen?”

“In the cupboard, Sir. Besides the glasses,” JARVIS explained. Peter readjusted the phone to the other ear and pulled his jacket off, leaving it in the hallway beside his shoes and then pulling his pants off as well. He stood in only his boxers, a t-shirt and a pair of socks thin enough to feel the soft carpet beneath his feet.

“Awesome,” Peter grinned, “Tell him I'm coming down the hallway, JARVIS. That I just woke up. I've got this.” Before any more words could be exchanged, Peter ended the call and tossed the phone as gently as he could on top of his pants. He took a deep breath before beginning his way back down the hallway.

Just as he was approaching, he heard the sound of his father's voice, “And Peter? How's he doing?”

“Actually, Sir, he's coming down the hallway as we speak.”

As if on cue, Peter made himself look as tired as possible, even going so far as to rub his eyes with the heels of his hand as he entered – Anything to sell the point.

“Tony?” he yawned, looking at the other with lidded eyes.

“Hey, Peter,” Tony greeted, sounding two parts confused with a hint of affectionately worried, “What are you doing up?”

“Had to piss,” he answered, simply. It wasn't an elaborate answer, but it usually worked with Aunt May and why change a good thing? “And then I got thirsty, so I came in here for a glass of water.”

“I see,” Tony smiled a little and Peter had to resist the urge to congratulate himself. Whoever thought he wasn't a great actor had to remember he'd managed to pull off being both Peter Parker and Spiderman for over a year. He could show up any kid in the drama club, if he'd wanted to… But they might have wanted him to try singing and he saved that part of himself for the shower and the occasional empty house.

“What about you?” Peter asked, heading for the cupboard with a pace slow enough to be considered sleepy. He yawned again, covering his mouth as he looked at the inside for his target. There, hidden on the side of the cupboard wall, was a rack of earpieces. As carefully as he could, he managed to pull one off as he grabbed a cup, standing with his back to Tony. The entire experience was making his blood pressure shoot up, but he'd be damned if this wasn't some adrenaline rush as well.

“I just came up for a cup of coffee,” Tony answered, turning to the machine, “Speaking of which, is it ready, yet, JARVIS?”

“Yes, Sir,” JARVIS answered, just as the coffee began to fill the mug that was sitting there, already.

“Excellent. Peter, will you grab another cup while you're there? You've only got to slide it into place. I'll get you your water.”

“Oh, uh… Sure,” Peter glanced over his shoulder. Tony had his back turned and Peter, set the glass on the counter to grab a mug from the same cupboard, but _accidentally_ swept something off the counter. When he went to go retrieve it, he was given the opportunity to stuff the earpiece in his sock, keeping it out of Tony's vision. When the billionaire turned back around, he was placing something on the counter before crossing the room and handing him a glass. Tony took the glass and walked it over to the sink while Peter fit the new mug into the coffeemaker, removing the finished coffee from it. They met in the middle and exchanged.

“Thanks,” Peter muttered, throwing back his head and downing the water in one go. He had places to be and not enough time to do it.

“No problem. I think you should go to bed, now,” Tony suggested, holding out his free hand for the empty glass, which Peter was more than happy to give him.

“Haha. Yeah. Good night, Tony. Try to get some sleep?”

“No promises. Good night, Kid.” Peter gave a halfhearted wave, interrupted partway through with a yawn and exited down the hallway he'd come from. Scooping up his things from where he'd left them, he was back into his room before Tony had even left the kitchen to resume his work.

“Am I good or what?” Peter quietly laughed, once he was back in his room and had shut the door behind him.

“That was incredibly risky, Master Peter,” JARVIS scolded.

“Oh, don't be a party pooper, JARVIS,” Peter stuck his tongue out, digging the earpiece out of his sock and holding it up to the light to get a better look at it, “This the thing, then?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“How's it work?” Peter turned it around a few times before putting it in place in his ear, fingers hovering over the various buttons. The biggest one was towards the bottom and made a soft pinging noise when he pressed it.

“If you can hear me, then I'll be able to pick up on everything you say from here on out, Sir,” JARVIS said, his voice coming from the device instead of the room, “If you give it a moment to adjust to calibrate, it should also be able to get readings on your condition.”

“Is it still gonna work with my costume on?” Peter wondered, crossing the room to his backpack and pulling out the spandex outfit. If the one he'd been trying to sneak out past already knew, there wasn't really any point in pretending like he wasn't Spiderman, anymore.

“I don't see any reason why not, Master Peter. Though, may I say your uniform is most unsafe. It barely supplies any protection to you from the enemies you face.”

Peter shrugged, pulling the t-shirt over his head and the socks off before he began to get dressed as the Spiderman, “Well, I didn't really have a lot of options, before. It's easy to make and fix without bringing attention to myself. If I wanted something safer, I can't really get it without more money and that's going to raise suspicion.”

The mask finally slid into place, and he readjusted his gloves, taking the opportunity to look at himself in the mirror set up in his room, “Besides, I'm fine, JARVIS. I've done this a million times before.”

Peter could have sworn the AI sighed at him, “Of course, Sir.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't gonna post another chapter until tomorrow, but my mom brought home Taco Bell and it put me in a really good mood so I decided - Eh. What the heck.

“Alright, how's the forecast looking tonight, JARVIS?” Peter wondered, perched on the edge of a building, overlooking the city, “And not the weather. I watched the news, earlier.”

“According to a general poll, your ratings have gone up two percent since yesterday,” JARVIS replied, his voice carrying over the earpiece, “Though, I'm sorry to say Jameson has an increase of viewers by point zero three percent.”

“Well, at least there is _some_ good news,” Peter muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

“If I may, Sir… Jameson is quite uneducated on Spiderman and I'm sure if you asked your father, he could do something about him,” JARVIS pointed out. At first, the personality that the AI had developed had seemed almost weird to Peter, but he'd begun to come to terms with it, even going so far as to exchange joking banter with him. While going solo back in his earlier days had been cool, having JARVIS around had been a serious improvement. It'd made the quiet nights a little less quiet and the eventful ones a little less scary. Not that anything scared Spiderman… But Peter Parker liked being reminded of that, even if he didn't _need_ it. There were even times, like now, where JARVIS could be just the tiniest bit protective over him and it wasn't weird like you'd think it's be. It was… Nice, actually. Comforting to know someone was looking out for him. He'd begun to understand why Tony had wanted him around in the first place.

Even so, he had to turn the poor guy down, “I appreciate it, Buddy, but that's not necessary. If a little bad publicity was enough to get me down, I wouldn't have stayed Spiderman this long.”

“If you're sure, Sir.” JARVIS sounded less than convinced and Peter couldn't help but giggle at that, shaking his head. They were silent for a few minutes before Peter spoke again.

“Hey, JARVIS?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Do you think Tony would be proud of me?” Peter wondered, glancing down at his wrist, turning his hand over, thoughtfully, “If he knew? Would he… You know… Think it was the right thing? I just… I want to make sure I'm hiding it from him for the right reasons.”

“I cannot say I know, Sir,” JARVIS admitted, causing a frown to form on Peter's face. Ever since Uncle Ben had died, he'd been forced to make his own decisions and hadn't had that kind of guidance in his life that he'd always wanted. Uncle Ben, he knew, would have been proud, if not worried, but he'd always wondered if Aunt May would understand. If she would hold his safety more important than his responsibility. Tony, if he had to put him in one of the categories, seemed like he fit better in the latter, “If it's any consolation, Sir, I am approximately ninety three percent certain that Master Rogers would have been proud.”

Peter laughed, bringing up his arm to shoot a web, making his way off the building to scout out the area, “Thanks, JARVIS.”

“Of course, Sir.”

The spider tossed himself across the sky, flawlessly making his rounds. It'd been a while since he'd snuck out that first night, but he had definitely become more accustomed to the new schedule. Mornings, Tony "slept" and at night he was so busy being locked up in his office that there was no way he'd notice Peter's absence. There was more reason for him to be worried about the rare occasion that Pepper came by to update him on a few things and make sure the two of them ate than there ever was to worry about Tony missing him.

A few birds came by and he easily dodged them, turning to make a face at them even though no one could see it. Suddenly, the tingling in the back of his mind drew his attention at the same time Jarvis spoke.

“Look out, Sir.”

The warning had been too late, apparently, because suddenly he hit his back against a hard surface and the wind was knocked out of him.

“Woah there,” a familiar voice laughed, arms coming up to catch him as the web he'd been swinging from slipped from his fingers. The bright red paint was unmistakable and Peter could hear the alarms going off in his head, “You having a little trouble there, Spiderman? I heard you were a little more agile than that.”

Peter, panicking about how totally busted he would be if Tony found out the truth, shot out a web and planted himself on a nearby building, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice, “Ha! Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't come sneaking up behind people, T-Uh… Ironman.”

Tony stared at him, considering a moment before smirking behind his mask. It was probably better that their respective faces were hidden because Peter's only spoke of complete terror, “I heard the rumors, but I didn't think you'd actually be a _kid_. No wonder Peter is so fond of you.”

“Who's Peter?” the boy in question asked, just trying to keep his identity. If there was one thing more stressful than facing baddies every night, it was his two worlds colliding.

“Just another kid,” Tony answered simply. Of course, Peter kind of expected that. They'd agreed, for now, to keep the reconnection on the down low, for Peter's sake. He'd yet to tell his best friends and had wanted to make sure they were prepared for when it became front cover. Really, they were only avoiding the inevitable. The paparazzi would start making up their own stories if Tony didn't set them straight – That was part of the whole reason he told them everything in the first place. Fortunately, they'd yet to pick up on Peter's coming and going, but it was bound to happen, eventually.

“What like another superhero kid?” Peter wondered, trying maybe to open Tony up to the idea of having a superhero for a son. It would be nice to finally come out to his new family like he'd never been able to do in his old life.

“Ha! Hells no. I'd have his hide for that,” Tony waved away the thought, drawing a little bit of disappointment out of Peter.

“Oh.”

“Well, as enjoyable as this meeting has been, I've got to get back,” Tony stated, hovering a little higher, “Take care of yourself, Kid. Try not to get yourself killed. That'd be a real bummer to Peter and I'm sure plenty of other people.”

“Yeah, I'll… Keep that in mind.”

And, like that, Tony was off, leaving Peter to stare after him and let his heart calm back to its normal pace. A siren pulled his attention away from his internal dilemma and he was off before he could dwell any longer on how _totally_ close that was.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last Peter meets Bruce for the first time for the last time.

“Good morning.”

Peter had had a _very_ long night. He hadn't been able to get more than a block away from Stark Tower when he stumbled across a crime scene, some burglary in the middle of Manhattan. And, like that, just as he finished one task another popped up. His arms were tired and his body ached from being thrown into buildings and he hadn't slept at all. He'd been hoping that the kitchen would be empty so that he could sneak in, get himself something to eat and then hop off to bed, but then the universe decided that there was going to be some _stranger_ in his future and all hope was lost.

“Uh… Yo,” Peter gave the guy a look, unsure about the best course of action. Usually, he'd think that some random guy in his house was reason for alarm, but then again this guy looked like he belonged here and Peter sure as hell didn't know enough about Tony's friends to dispute it. Instead, he called for a little backup, “Hey, uh… JARVIS? Where's Tony?”

“He's on his way up, Master Peter.”

“Oh, you must be Peter,” the man smiled, calmly, and set his tea down before holding out his hand, “I didn't mean to startle you. My name is Dr. Banner. Your father and I are friends – He's been talking about you.” Peter linked hands with him, shaking politely.

“Banner? Kind of rings a bell, I guess. The gamma radiation scientist, right? Didn't you have some kind of accident?”

“It's not nice to point out someone's big green and uglies, Peter,” Tony appeared in the doorway, crossing the room to place a hand on the boy's head and ruffle his hair, “I see you've met Peter, Brucie. Everything I promised he'd be, isn't he?”

“ _Tony_...” Peter grumbled, only slightly more embarrassed than pleased. Bruce watched this whole interaction with practiced eyes. From the moment he'd set eyes on Peter he'd had an inkling of an idea, only solidified by each moment. The tired, glassed over look. The way he walked as if he was sore and trying to pretend otherwise. Not to mention the way he'd stood the second his eyes had fallen on Bruce. Not a conventional fighting stance, but more of an acrobatic one – As if he was ready to jump out of the way at the first sign of danger. It was one he'd observed mostly on Natasha. Steve had done it once or twice, as well, but he had generally stood more like a soldier. The look in his eyes was definitely consistent with Steve, though. It was more duty than possessive like Tony's could be. Even as he called out for JARVIS, there was a promise in his eyes that he could handle the situation all on his own.

Bruce could spot a self proclaimed super hero from a mile away.

Maybe it was all speculation, though. Maybe he was just seeing things where there were none. Tony obviously didn't know because he couldn't keep secrets. He hadn't even been able to hide his own secret identity because of one annoying reporter. Granted, that had been years ago and Tony had grown plenty, since, but Bruce was still hard to lie to. So, that either meant the boy was sneaking off without anyone's knowledge or he was just some ordinary kid. Well, there was only one way to find out.

“Stark,” Bruce interrupted their playful bickering, drawing the attention of the two, “I was just about to return to the lab. Perhaps we could bring Peter with us.”

“Oh, I dunno if-” Tony began, only to be cut off by Peter's overly excited reply. Somehow, he'd found a little more energy.

“Woah, really? I would love to! I can help, maybe! I'm pretty into science and stuff. Hell, I even invented my own… Uh… Science projects!” And there was that light that went off in Bruce's head again, warning him that there might be more to Peter than meets the eye, “I've got a lot of experience in all sorts of sciences, but I'm especially into chem and physics.”

“Eh, I don't see why not,” Tony shrugged. Peter whooped in excitement and they all made their way down to the lab, Peter having completely forgotten his lack of sleep and Bruce more curious than ever.

* * *

“Peter.”

The whole morning had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Peter, true to his word, really did love watching them work, but had surprised both men with just how smart he actually was. By the first hour, he already had his hand in their discussions and observations and by the second, Tony was starting to think maybe the kid needed his own workspace. It had been a nice change for the both of them. While science had always been an enjoyable pastime, sharing the experience with Peter had brought a whole new element into the mix. Tony, at least, was thrilled to have someone that snarked back at him instead of glared whenever he said something stupid.

Even with all the excitement, Bruce couldn't push the nagging feeling out of his mind and when Tony stepped out for a minute, he sighed and put down his tools.

“What's up, Dr. Banner?” Peter looked up as well, head tilted in a curious gesture. He swore, the kid couldn't have looked more innocent if he tried.

“I know that we just met today, so you may have some apprehension about telling me anything, but I will tell you that I'm a lot more level headed than your father about most things.” Bruce knew he was treading in dangerous water, but it was important that Peter understand he didn't have to save the world solo. In his experience, most heroes had come out torn apart when they did that – Either mentally or physically. Tony had come to be a friend to him and trying to protect his son from that was really only a given, “You can ask him, yourself, and he'd probably agree. I am very observant and, while I don't intend to rat you out, you will need someone, eventually.”

At first, Peter was speechless. His mind raced with a million and one thoughts, most of them consisting of panic, but eventually he picked one, “Are you saying you think that someone should be you?”

Bruce only smiled at that, turning to his task once again, “If you think that is the best choice.” Peter didn't exactly know how to respond to that, so he yawned, instead.

“You had a busy night, last night,” Bruce pointed out, not looking up this time, “Why don't you go get some rest. Stark and I will still be here when you get back.”

“Yeah… Good idea,” Peter muttered with another yawn. He headed for the exit, beginning to feel just how tired he really was, “See you later, Dr. Banner.”

“Oh. And Peter?”

“Hmm?”

“Dr. Banner is somewhat of a long title. Since we are already on a first name basis by my part, Bruce will do just fine.”

Peter smirked, waving halfheartedly before he left, “Okay. Sure thing, Bruce. G'night.”

“Sleep well.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Animal themed villain? Classic Spiderman.

“I don't suppose you'll surrender now and save me the hassle?”

Richard Bryce paused a moment in his heist, eyes narrowed as wallcrawler appeared before him. He was currently hiding behind his persona, Stinging Shadow – Though not by choice. The man before him stood between him and everything he'd ever wanted, so there was no way he'd let this costume clad punk stop him.

Spiderman jumped left and shot his webs, but Richard was faster, swiping his robotic tail out against the attack. Again and again they met each other with practiced ease and the effort was beginning to test Richard's patience. When the spider was distracted with his fists, he shot his tail down, managing to get a good swipe at his chest and exposing the spider's blood to the air.

“Woah! When you say sting, you aren't kidding!” he laughed, boiling Richard's blood farther. He made a move to strike him, again, but the spider didn't make the same mistake twice. He was out of the way, but obviously bleeding and not quite as fast. His actions caused him to hiss in pain and Richard couldn't help but smirk a little in victory.

“I hate to tell you, Buddy, but there is really only room for one arachnid in this city,” Spiderman pointed out, a web coming from behind him and drawing his attention to the pest, “And I have dibs.”

“I won't allow you to stop me!” Richard roared, but his voice came out computerized – He didn't even recognize the sound.

“I didn't think you were gonna _allow_ me to do anything, pal,” the spider replied, sending a few more webs his way, “That wont change the fact I'm gonna do it.”

They approached each other with hesitant stances, both obviously ready to give it their all. Just before Richard was about to strike, aiming for the pest's feet, a heat came from his side, followed by a blinding light and a force that sent him flying. When his eyes were just beginning to see, again, a new figure came to stand beside the spider.

“There you are, Junior. I was beginning to think you were having fun without me.”

“I was sort of handling this,” Spiderman grumbled, though he probably meant to sound a lot angrier than he did. There was a hint of admiration in his voice that was undeniable.

“Yeah. Really looks like it,” Ironman chuckled, gesturing to his injury.

“This? Come on. This is more damage to my suit than my person.”

“You really need a better sense of self-preservation, Kid.”

“Yeah, well, not all of us can afford top dollar toys, Mr.Stark.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Tony.”

“How about Daddy? You stick your nose in my business enough for it.”

“Don't push your luck. Speaking of your business, it's hightailing its way out of here.”

Sure enough, Richard was already using the opportunity to scurry away. He had news to report and a gift for his employer. While the knowledge of an Iron-Spider team up would interest the man in charge, the small sample of Spiderman's DNA would prove far more useful. It might even be enough to earn his reward.

“Oh shit!” Spiderman was off, chasing down the escapee.

“Wouldn't you rather go get that looked at and let me take on that tincan scorpion?” Ironman wondered, a smirk settling across his hidden face as the Spiderman swung away.

“No thanks! See you around, Old man!”

* * *

Richard slithered his way into the secret base, his robotic tail moving behind him, “Boss.”

“I see you've returned without the Spiderman.” A figure emerged from the shadows, their face too cast into darkness to identify. Richard inched forward, sizing up the other though he knew it pointless.

“I've brought you something else,” Richard answered, an invisible glare forming in his eyes, “But first I want proof – You said you'd give me proof that my family is alive.” As soon as the words left his mouth, a mechanical claw shot out of the shadows, catching him around the neck and holding him above the ground. The forced closed around his neck just tight enough to make breathing difficult.

“Have you _forgotten_ , Mr. Bryce?” the other hissed, his words leaking venomous intent, “That I am the boss of _you_ and _not_ the other way around!”

Richard scratched at his throat, attempting to pull the hold away, but his stance stood sure, “Show… Me… M….y…. _Family_!” The other seemed like he would refuse, but eventually tossed the scorpion aside, landing him with a crash into a stack of boxes. He groaned and pulled himself up as the other made their way across the room, moving in front of a computer. He moved aside just as a recording appeared of a woman and a small girl, struggling against their bondages. Richard gingerly rose and moved towards the screen, his eyes wide behind his mask. As soon as the image came, it was gone and Richard felt his heart break at its disappearance.

“You have been given your proof,” the man stated, “And if you wish for them to stay alive, you will do _exactly_ as I say.”

“Of course,” Richard sighed, removing a small vile from a compartment in his suit and holding it out to the claw that moved forward to take it, “I was unable to get Spiderman, himself, but I did manage to snag this.”

“Hmm. Not what I wanted, but interesting...” the other inspected the vile, the blood inside moving as he tipped it back and forth, “Is that all?”

“No,” Richard said, shaking his head, “There's something else.”

“Well, get on with it.”

“It's the spider… He's teamed up with Ironman. He appeared while I was apprehending the spider and they were talking. The way they spoke… It reminded me of almost a father-son relationship. There might be hold in getting to spider through him.”

“Really?” the man moved from the shadows, his face finally being revealed. A crazed grin was etched across his features and Richard had to look away, “Well isn't that… Interesting. What do you say to a little visit to Daddy's?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: **Gets accused of creating a stupid villain for plot purposes**  
> Me: **Peter Parker Voice** Whhaaaaaattt??????


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot? What plot?

At first, Peter wasn't really sure where he was. The feeling of something pressed against his forehead was the first thing to register, followed by the uncomfortable feeling of nausea. He let out a whine, rolling away from whoever it was in what he hoped was a universal sign of _go away_. Instead, that seemed to make them redouble their efforts, because suddenly the hand was brushing through his hair.

“G'way,” he barely managed, releasing a halfhearted swat that did absolutely nothing. Instead of the response he'd been hoping for, the other let out a laugh – And one Peter knew far too well.

“T'ny?” he turned his head, managing to pop open one eye to look at him with. The light hurt and he hissed, turning away from it, again.

“Not feeling so hot, huh?” Tony joked, but there was a hint of concern in his words as well.

“Still b'tter look'n' th'n you,” Peter managed a weak smirk, earning himself a swat in the back of the head. He turned to look at Tony once again, managing to keep his eyes partially open this time, “Wh'r'm I?”

“You're in your room, Kid. JARVIS told me you were showing signs of fever and I came to check on you,” he answered. It took Peter a minute, but he was vaguely able to recall the prior evening.

_“Ow…_ _JARVIS… What am I looking at here?”_ _Peter moaned, lowering himself onto his bed as gingerly as he could manage. The suit was practically sticking to his skin with sweat and the gash in his stomach had stopped bleeding a while ago, but it still hurt. In fact, after chasing after the Stinging Shadow and coming up with nada, Peter had barely had enough strength to crawl home afterwards._

_“Sir, you need to get out of the suit,” JARVIS said, calmly, “Your body appears to be healing at an accelerated rate, but you need rest.”_

_“Mm,” Peter rolled onto his side, uncomfortably. The entire night had been pretty awful and the thing that's happened to go right was courtesy of Tony. As if he needed his parent to coming running to his rescue – Yeah, no thanks._

_“Sir, I really must insist.”_

_With a sigh, the teenager finally started to peel the spandex suit off and shoving the pieces into his backpack. Once he was clad in nothing but his boxers, he tossed the bag against the wall and rolled back over, pulling his pillow closer to himself and groaning, again._

_“JARVIS. Turn off the lights, please.”_

_“Of course, Sir.”_

_Peter was out before the lights were all the way dimmed._

Sure enough, when Peter looked, the backpack was still tossed up against the wall where he'd left it. Now that he was a little more aware, he managed to swat away the hand combing through his hair. It seemed the third time was the charm, because Tony finally let up.

“I'll let you get some rest, Peter. Feel free to have JARVIS call me if you need anything.”

Tony, not wanted to crowd the boy and feeling incredibly out of place with his inability to suppress his concern, retreated from the room. The moment Peter was sure he was gone, he rolled out of bed with a groan, managing to pick up his phone from the floor and having only just enough energy to get back. The effects he was feeling now were likely from the incident the night before. Ever since he'd become Spiderman, the accelerated healing he experienced had always come with a price. The worse the injury, the more feverish he became. The attack last night had probably been a lot worse than either of them realized, but by the next day, he would probably feel better. This moment would give him time to plan something he had been meaning to do for a while, now.

“Harry Osborn,” the other teen answered after the first couple of rings. Peter thanked whatever god out there that his best friend hadn't been busy because he wasn't sure he would have followed through, later.

“Hey, Harry. It's Peter.”

“Peter! You sound awful, Buddy.”

The sickly boy couldn't help but laugh, managing to roll onto his back, “Thanks, Man. I feel awful. That's not why I called, though. You busy tomorrow?”

“Besides some early morning meeting, I'm free. What can I do for you, Peter?” Harry's voice sounded genuinely interested and somewhat pleased, as if he was excited at the prospect of meeting up. If he hadn't been so incapacitated, he would have kicked himself. The amount of time he spent on his best friends these days wasn't nearly enough. He'd have to fix that.

“I was wondering if you and MJ would be up for getting together,” Peter explained. He turned from the phone for a moment to cough into his elbow before he continued, “Something really important has happened and I've got to tell you guys.”

“Does it have to do with your parents?” Harry wondered, a hint of curiosity in his tone, “You haven't talked to me since when you stopped by a while back asking for the testing.”

“Yeah, it does, but I can't tell you over the phone,” Peter answered. With how long they'd kept the secret, Peter wasn't about to blow it, now. Plus, Mary Jane would have been furious that Harry had found out first. The amount of stuff he'd have to do to get back on her good side would not be worth the risk.

“Aw, come on, Pete. Just a hint?”

“Sorry, Harry, but MJ would have my ass. I promise you both will be the first to know – Tomorrow.”

“ _Fine_. You call her already?”

“No, not yet. I wasn't feeling that well until just now.”

“You should rest up, Peter. I'll take care of it.”

“Thanks, Man.”

“No problem. Does one'o'clock sound good to you?”

“Yeah, sure. I'm good with that.”

“Cool. Should I send someone to pick you up?”

Peter laughed, hesitantly. Fortunately, Tony didn't quite yet know his best friend wasn't just some kid named Harry and instead of _the_ Harry Osborn. The two companies had been competitors of sorts for a long time and you know what they say about old habits dying hard. Peter planned to keep this secret as long as he could and having an _Oscorp_ limo pull up to Stark Tower would give that away in a heartbeat. “Nah, Harry. I've got it covered.”

For Harry, the notion of Peter turning down his ride was ludicrous. It was only once every blue moon that Peter turned down a ride in one of his limos and even rarer when that ride was a pick-up deal. He'd always known Peter liked nice things he could never have on his families budget and didn't mind sparing a few dollars here and there to make his best friend happy – It was the least he could do to pay him back, “Now I'm really thinking you're unwell. You sure you don't want a ride, Pete?”

“Wow!” Peter gasped in obviously fake offense, “Excuse you! Haha, just kidding, man. But seriously, it's probably better I get there on my own. My dad doesn't know exactly who you are, yet, and I don't want him to find out like that.”

“Your _dad_?” Harry managed to catch that little slip, making Peter cry out in irritation.

“Ack! Forget I said that! Just… I'll be there! And don't forget to tell MJ! Later, Harry!”

“Later, Pete.” Harry barely managed to get that through with all his laughter and as soon as the words were out, Peter hung up his phone and let it fall to the floor. He ran a hand over his face, coming to terms with what he just committed to. With a sign, he settled back against his bed and closed his eyes – He was going to need the rest.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's kind of one of my personal head canons that, whenever Peter is recovering from an injury, he heals up really quick, but always gets really sick afterwards. It's like a way for his body to flush out all the bacteria and dead cells and stuff. I dunno. I mean, it's canon in a ton of verses that he gets sick, but he's basically half super soldier in this verse, so I've gotta have explanations for stuff.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony, for the first time in weeks, had the Tower to himself.

After a very entertaining breakfast with Peter and the lovely Miss Potts, the former of the two had excused himself to go visit a friend. What little digging Tony had managed to do, he hadn't uncovered much about this friend – Or friends, he supposed. Peter had said there would be a girl there, as well. After an unsuccessful attempt on Peter's part to drive one of Tony's cars, he eventually settled for a chauffeur and was out the door with a slightly anxious, but otherwise cheerful goodbye.

And so, Tony found himself laying on a couch, one arm hanging off the side and the other covering his face to block out the sun coming in from the wall to ceiling window nearby. He'd turned on the television to block out the silence, but had been too disinterested in it to actually change the channel. The dramatics of a Spanish _telenovella_ filled the room and if Tony had cared more, he might have found it odd that he could relax better through their completely incomprehensible sobbing than without it. That was probably the first sign he'd totally lost it.

Then, again, the entire charade he'd been playing these past few weeks were probably better indicators than even that. Every time he so much as glanced at Peter, he only saw Steve. The way the kid talked and joked and hell even the way he _looked_. Sure, Tony saw plenty of himself in Peter, too, but that wasn't ever any concern to him. He ignored that when he could. All this time playing house, Tony had no clue what he was doing. When he'd first laid eyes on the kid, he had thought maybe… What? It would bring Steve back? It would somehow fill the hole left in his life?

Of course, this had proven fruitless because, at the end of the day, Peter _wasn't_ him. He was his own kid with a backstory sad enough to drive him to being a superhero – And Tony thanked every fiber in himself that that wasn't the case. He'd lost one idiot to the world and it's constant demand to be saved, he certainly wouldn't lose another.

“JARVIS. Have Dummy bring me my scotch,” Tony groaned. He needed to stop being alone with his thoughts. They were starting to head in less than happy places and the best cure tended to be his old friend – Alcohol.

Tony didn't notice the lack of response at first. He was too busy moping to take note that the AI system that never, not _once_ ignored him suddenly was all too quiet. When no monotoned _yes, Sir_ came from the mysterious speakers Tony had installed all across the house, he sat up and furrowed his brow.

“JARVIS?”

“It seems that your butler has taken some vacation time, Mr. Stark,” a sinister voice wheezed, accompanied by the slowly approaching figure from the hallway, “Something has… Come up.”

“Who the hell are you?” Tony demanded. Despite the panic rising in his throat, he remained calm and poised. It was never good to let your enemy see the fear in your eyes – That is how they know they've beat you. Also, Tony was a prideful asshole and no way was he gonna submit to some guy who broke into his house and then proceeded to break his friend, “More importantly, what the hell are you doing in my house? In case you didn't get the update, this is private property, buddy.”

“Oh, Mr. Stark. You expensive CEO types are all the same,” the figure laughed in a way that had Tony cringing. How could one guy have a laugh that sounded like that many chalkboards being scratched on? The world may never know.

The closer the other came, the more Tony began to see of him. Four mechanical tentacles were the source of his movement, a few of them tearing at his carpet as he went. The billionaire frowned at that. He'd just gotten that carpet cleaned last week. “So… Lemme guess. You were some shitty employee of mine with an even shittier invention and when I fired you for being an idiot, you vowed revenge and became the treacherous Squidman?”

The other smirked, clearly amused, “No, fortunately for you, my former employer was not yourself. I will not go into the details of his fate, but let us just say he is not the man he used to be. You may know me as Doctor Otto Octavius, though that pest seems to have the whole city hooked on the name Doctor Octopus. In truth, I am here for business regarding Spiderman.”

“Spiderman?” Tony repeated, actually stunned, “You think I know something about Spiderman? You're kidding, right?”

“A pet of mine caught you and him collaborating,” Otto stated, encroaching on Tony's personal bubble, “Noted how _close_ you two seemed. I have come to take you as leverage.”

“I hate to tell you this, Doc, but the Spider and I aren't really as close as you think.” Tony moved away from him with a disgusted look on his face. He really didn't like people in his bubble. Instinctively, Tony's hands wrapped around his wrist, only to find the bracelet not there. He mentally cursed himself. This was why he should start wearing the thing around the house. Seemingly still at ease, Tony wandered to his kitchen, starting up the coffee machine and pulling himself a mug out of the cupboard, “I've gotta hand it to you, though. You went through a hell of a lot of effort to do some bug catching. JARVIS isn't taken down with a little bit of fancy lights and twirl of the fingers. How many days you been hacking away for?”

“A few,” Otto seemed to be more entertained with every action Tony took. Bastard probably thought he was delaying the inevitable. After all, _poor_ Tony Starkwas _defenseless_ without his _precious_ gadgets, right? Yeah, well, think again, bitch.

“Like I said – Effort,” Tony pointed the mug at him, before turning back to the machine, “You want a cup?”

“No. I am quite alright.” Tony would have smiled if he wasn't currently playing a cover. The day when a villain actually said yes would be the day he lost. Only idiots had no manners.

“Suit yourself,” Tony shrugged and had himself a private chuckle. Suit yourself. He was hilarious and also damn sure people would be groaning if they knew what he was up to. A button under the countertop released a secret compartment revealed the wristband found inside. He wordlessly slipped it onto his hands and closed it, once again, before grabbing his coffee and returning to conversation with the doctor, who was currently looking around the room. It was like he was waiting for Tony to run so he could get a little fun out of this. Sick puppy.

“So, you really hate this Spiderman kid, huh?” Tony questioned, careful not to draw attention to the bracelet. It'd been designed to look like an ordinary watch, but one could never be _too_ safe. He took a sip of his coffee and made a face at it. There never seemed to be enough crème and sugar when he made it, himself. “He spit in your coffee or something? Or are you just one of those old, grumpy types that's always like _bahum-bug!_ “

“You are far too similar to him,” the doctor growled, his patience growing thin, “I think it is just about time that we go.”

“Yeah, about that,” Tony set his coffee down and pressed a button on the bracelet that called his suit, “I'm afraid I'm going to have to reschedule.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, several chapters later, I finally finished writing this. I will continue posting updates, don't worry. I have a sequel in mind - after I write my one friend a quick story - involving some elements of Spideypool. I would love to hear if you guys want anything else in there so I can start coming up with ideas.


	13. Chapter 13

“Hey, Tony! I'm home!”

The man in question glanced up from his device at the sound of his son's voice, quickly switching desktops to cover up what he was doing. Peter, having come from a _very interesting_ meet up with his friends, wandered into the living room and was about to toss his backpack up against a wall when shattered glass drew his attention. The bag dropped from his hand into the middle of the floor and he gawked.

“Holy shit.”

“That's not the kind of language Captain America would want you to use.”

Peter turned his head towards the voice, finding his father sitting on a half a couch with his tablet in his hands, reading up on something or other. All around him, it looked like a tornado had struck in that room alone. There were gaping holes in the walls and the large window was shattered – Like something had been tossed through it. Pieces of furniture and other household items were scattered in every direction. He spotted what was left of his game console sticking out of the wall closest to him. The television lay face down in front of the couch, a table leg stuck right through it.

“What happened?” Peter demanded, fearing the worse. What if someone had gotten into the house? Usually, the security system set in place would stop anyone from getting through – Had even stopped him on the occasion he wandered somewhere in the tower he wasn't supposed to. But what if it wasn't enough to stop some villain? Sure, he was Spiderman and his dad was Ironman, but one of them had a secret identity to protect – He couldn't start swinging webs without Tony finding out.

Tony glanced up and took note of the panic on Peter's face with a soft smile, “There's no reason to freak out, Kiddo. I was messing around with my suit and things were a little off on my calculations.”

“Your… Suit?” Peter paused a moment, shooting Tony a disbelieving look, “ _You_ did this?”

“Of course I did. Who else could it have been?” Tony laughed at the sheer shock in Peter's expression, “Come on, Peter. I have the most advanced security system known to man, not to mention I have an entire army of suits – You've seen them. There's nothing that would even think about coming here.”

“I guess you're right,” Peter replied, the tension draining out of him. Of course it was silly to worry. Surely _Ironman_ would be able to take out anything that could even get _close_ to the house before he could so much as shoot a web. There was nothing to worry about, “Just to be sure, _I'm_ not allowed to make a mess like this, right?”

“Only if you have a really good reason.” A mischievous look twinkled in Tony's eye and Peter smiled at it in return. He crossed the room to sit beside the other on the couch. Tony moved to give him a little more room, but it resulted in him putting stress on a particularly sore muscle and he hissed in pain.

“Tony…?”

“It's nothing, Kiddo,” Tony insisted, waving away his concern and settling back down, “I just hit myself a little hard during… This. Honestly, I've been through a lot worse.”

“Are you sure you don't need a doctor?” Tony shook his head, smiling bitterly.

“No, trust me.” He swipped a finger on his tablet, “I saw one this morning.”

“Oh.”

And, suddenly, they were quiet. The destruction of the room was only interesting for so long and Tony could see Peter getting antsy. Tony could sympathize with that. He always had to be _doing_ something or would probably go mad. Even now, he was discretely flipping through everything he could find on this mysterious Doctor Octopus guy. In truth, when he first met up with Spiderman he'd barely done more than a basic background check on the kid. He hadn't really felt threatened and, not really thinking he'd see the other often in his future, brushed the information aside. Over the course of the past few weeks, they'd run into one another more and more often, but it still wasn't enough to think that had changed. Whatever kid was behind that mask obviously had a little bit of a man crush on him, if the admiration he heard in the kid's voice was anything to go by. Maybe that was why he was targeted, then. Thankfully, every teenager with wide eyes in his direction didn't have arch nemesis', otherwise his house would look like this a lot more often.

But then, again, it seemed the not-so-good doctor had really been after the boy for some time, now. Twice he'd assembled entire leagues of Spiderman's old foes and used them to try and bring him down. The number of beatings caught on camera alone at the hands of this psycho was enough to make Tony wince. And, to put the icing on the cake, the entire news report he was watching was lead by an avid Spiderman hater. If it'd been him in the punk's boots, he would have dropped the entire hero shtik, all together. Wherever this boy's parents were, they were idiots for not pulling him out of the practice sooner.

“And even bigger idiots for not suiting him up properly,” Tony thought, watching with slight concern as Doctor Octopus tore at his right arm. He was reminded briefly of their meeting the other night where that tincan with the scorpion persona had torn a large gash right through his suit. He might have been wearing nothing with how little he was protected by it. Tony looked momentarily to Peter, frowning. If it had been his kid...

As if sensing the other staring at him, Peter met his gaze with a hopeful smile, “Hey, can I have a go at the suit, sometime?”

Tony shook his head, unable to stop his lip from twitching upward. “Can you drive?”

“Hells no. Who needs a car in the city?”

“Then absolutely not.”

“Aaaaw! But, Tony!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Tony. If only you knew...


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT SORT OF PLOT TWIST SORCERY IS THIS???

“You know, I don't have to report _everything_ to you, Lady,” Tony grumbled into the phone, holding up the newspaper in his hands to read it better. He sat at a table, his coffee set off to the side while he was on the phone. Almost as soon as the paper had gone out that morning, he'd received a very pissy call demanding to know information about some secret affair. Tony, completely baffled, had been directed to the newspaper where the front page article was plastered with distant pictures of him and Peter. The largest was taken just a few days ago, and featured him ruffling the boy's hair. Despite the objection Peter had put up at the time, he was laughing in the photo. The others were less intimate, showing them standing around and one where Peter was stepping out of one of his cars. According to the report, they were painting Peter as some kind of gold digger and himself as a heart broken hero just trying to put the pieces back together. He rolled his eyes.

A very angry voice on the other side of the phone drew him out of whatever zone he'd gone into, “ _Listen_. Jeez. It was his request that I didn't tell anyone, alright? I'mma get this sorted out. Just get off my back, already.”

“Tony?” Peter poked his head into the room, hair sticking up in every direction and looking like he'd just crawled out of bed. A glance at the clock confirmed the theory.

“Speak of the devil! There's the kid, now! Sorry, Hon! Call you, later!” Tony, too busy hanging up the phone as quickly as possible, missed Peter crossing the room and sitting across from him.

“Who was that?” Peter wondered, trying to catch a glimpse of the newspaper. Tony pulled it out of his view, crumpling it slightly in his hastiness.

“Just a friend.”

A confused smile crept onto Peter's face as he reached for the paper, again, “What's up with the paper?”

“It's no big deal, Peter,” Tony insisted, moving it away again, “Oh and… We need to start telling people. Sooner rather than later. Have you told those friends of yours, yet?”

Peter was a little startled by the urgency in his voice. “Um… Yeah, I told them the other day. What do you mean by tell people?”

“A press conference, of course,” Tony answered, already digging out his cellphone and setting up things with people, “JARVIS, call my tailor and see if they have that suit ready, yet. The one I ordered for Peter.”

“I have a suit,” Peter pointed out. Tony didn't even bother to look up, too engrossed in his one-handed texting. The other held the paper tightly, as if daring him to try and take it. With his webshooters, that would have been an easy feat, but there was no way Peter Parker was going to do it, unassisted.

“Don't be ridiculous. What you have isn't a suit. It's fancy casual. Something you wear when you're going to a party but you hate the host and want to make sure he knows it. I can't really think of a comparison for you, Peter.” Tony didn't seem to notice the look Peter was giving him until he shot his head up with an exclamation. “Oh! You know what it's like? It's like if you hung Spiderman's outfit up with my toys and called it armor. I mean, that kid runs around in spand… Nevermind.” Tony guiltily returned to what he was doing and Peter just rolled his eyes. If he didn't know better, he'd have though Tony was actually _concerned_ for Spiderman, with how often he criticizes his choice in outfit material.

“Really, though,” Tony added as an after thought, “I'm half tempted to buy the kid something stronger, myself. You don't suppose he has an extra suit lying around that he'll lend me so that I can enhance it?”

“Tony,” Peter cut him off before he could get too caught up on that. “Lemme see the paper.”

“No can do, Kid. Reading newspapers is adult stuff. Go find yourself a comic book.”

Peter frowned, somewhat insulted, “You do realize I read college physics textbooks, right? I don't need something with a lot of pictures to understand it.”

“Not what I meant.” Tony gave him a look that seemed like a cross between disapproving and proud. Peter wasn't sure how he managed that, but if anyone could, it was Tony Stark. “Just go. I'm not giving you the paper.”

Peter looked about ready to argue, but thought better of it. Suddenly struck with an idea, he pushed back his chair and excused himself from the table, heading for his room. Tony, not nearly as old as some people in the house might have claimed, caught on instantly.

“JARVIS. Put parental blocks on all the newspaper websites,” Tony directed. And then, as an after thought, “And social media, too. I don't need him finding out through whatever kind of people he's following on those.”

“Sir, doesn't this seem like a little much?” JARVIS questioned, following through with the order.

“Not in the slightest. I want to have this whole business cleared up before he even gets wind of it.” the genius set the paper back on the table, his expression twisting into annoyance, “And I am _not_ some heart-broken smook who can be easily manipulated. Leave me a memo to find out who wrote this article and have them fired.”

“Sir...”

“Can I at least get them demoted? They're making me look bad in front of my adoring fans.”

* * *

“Hey, Captain. Come take a look at this.”

The man in question glanced up at his name, momentarily putting his sketchbook aside and approaching the tiny television that sat in the far end of the room that once was a bar. He came to stand beside a man on a stool, both of them crossing their arms and wearing matching expressions as the lady reporting the news spoke.

“ _In a recent report, billionaire and CEO, Tony Stark may be engaged in some sort of romantic relationship with a younger man._ ”

“Isn't that the guy you were seeing once upon a time?” the man on the stool questioned. The captain nodded, but was unable to pull his attention away from the screen. A picture came up as the woman continued talking, depicting Tony and a kid who looked like he belonged in high school. A sudden spark of jealousy shot through him at the happy expression they both wore as Tony ruffled the younger's hair.

“ _Woah_! When they say younger, they aren't kidding.”

“What are you idiots doing over there?” came a third voice from the opposite corner. Its originator sat hunched over a book, but he glanced up momentarily when the man on the stool had spoken up.

“Cap's man is setting his standards pretty low. To be fair, the guy is heartbroken. Maybe he is actually being manipulated. Poor bastard.”

“Tony wouldn't see someone this soon. Especially not a kid.” The captain's voice wobbled a little, unsure. The look that crossed his face bordered on hurt and he was feeling a little sick all of a sudden.

“You sure about that, Cap? He's done some pretty messed up stuff, before.”

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. Tony _had_ been pretty unpredictable in the past – Especially back when they'd first met. Was there really _anything_ he'd put past him, completely? Before he got the chance to reply, the third person spoke up, authority and a hint of protectiveness ringing through their words.

“Don't be an idiot. Stark's a bigger cry baby than anyone I know. He's probably still wallowing over you. Besides, have you seen that kid? He looks exactly like the bastard. It's probably his son and the media is being a bunch of asses.”

The captain had listened to this with wide eyes and, once he returned his gaze to the television, he realized the other had a point. The two of them did look a lot alike. The hair and the eyes were similar. He had a vaguely similar facial structure. They could easily have passed as family.

“That… Actually makes a lot of sense,” the man on the stool admitted, “If I had to guess, I'd say you're probably right, Buck.”

“Of course I am,” the other rolled his eyes, turning back to his book.

“I think that's about enough television for one day,” the captain stated, reaching over and shutting it off. The man on the stool objected, only to get an amused look from him. “Come on, Sam. You're going to rot your brains out if you watch too much.”

“I only was watching it for, like, twenty minutes!” he objected. When this didn't change his expression, Sam huffed and rose from his place, heading for the exit, “I'm going for a run.”

“I'll come with you,” the captain suggested, eager to get out of this cramped room.

“Absolutely not.” the third man called, nose buried in his book.

“No way in hell.” Sam shook his head. The captain's good mood deflated and he glanced away.

“Right, of course. Sorry.”

With a sympathetic look, Sam rested a hand on his shoulder, “If it makes you feel any better, I only objected because I don't want you showing me up.”

“I objected because if you try to leave the building, I'm tying you to a chair.”

“Thanks, Bucky.” the captain rolled his eyes, but a small smile was settling over his features. He gave Sam a push towards the door, “You go. We'll be here when you get back.”

Sam reflected his smile, heading out with a wave. “Sounds good, Steve. I'll see you in a bit.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of was thinking the lady on the phone was Natasha, but I suppose it's vague enough for you to make it anyone on the other end.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might go back and rewrite a few of these chapters, later, but for now I just want to finish uploading them all and get working on the next installment.

Part of Peter knew he was being kind of childish. Ever since Tony had had JARVIS put all those parental blocks on his computer and phone, Peter had been playing the brooding teenager and refused to so much as look at the man. While Tony felt a little bad about the situation, he was too preoccupied with setting up a press conference to give it much thought. Besides, this was for the best. No reason to worry the kid over something easily fixable.

“Peter. Your tie is crooked,” Tony muttered, fixing the article. The boy made a face at him.

“Why do we have to tell everyone, anyways?” Peter grumbled. The whole morning had been one exhausting experience after another and they'd only just arrived. Despite the reassurances from Tony that this wouldn't be a regular thing, Peter was less than convinced. He was tired and mopey and generally less than enthralled.

Tony sighed, trying to straighten Peter's hair out a little, despite it being pointless, “Listen, Kid. People in this world are very nosey. Unless you can come up with a lie plausible enough to be believed, you've gotta tell the truth or they'll get the wrong idea. That's the whole reason I came out as Ironman… Well, that and there was a reporter that pissed me off, but that's for another time. Come on. It's time to go.”

Peter, much to his dismay, was ushered out to the podium, left to stand awkwardly next to Tony as he took the stand. The reporters were yelling over one another to get the billionaire's attention and the constant flashing of cameras caused him to blink. For someone that was most cocky behind a mask and hid behind a camera from most of his high school bullies, this was way too much to take. He was better than he'd been a few year ago, but no where near ready for this.

“It has come to my attention that _some of you_ have been very poorly informed on a few details of my personal life,” Tony began, once the crowded had calmed down, moderately, “I would just like to take this time to quickly clear that up. As some of you know, I've recently begun living with this young man to my right. His name is Peter Parker.” The boy in question looked over at the sound of his name, momentarily forgetting about his annoyance with Tony. He briefly wondered how many of his peers from Midtown were watching in their own homes. If their reactions were anything like Mary Jane's and Harry's, he was sad not to be there for them.

“ _Despite_ what any individuals might have told you, Peter is _not_ involved in any kind of romantic relationship and neither am I,” Tony continued, looking directly into a camera like he was on the office, “ _Especially_ not with one another. In reality, Peter is my son. I want to once and for all put these rumors to rest. Questions.”

“Mr.Stark!” a reporter called out, raising her mic, “Is it true you have moved on from the death of Captain Rogers and are seeking a romantic partner?”

“Absolutely not,” Tony shook his head, “I have no intention to have any kind of long-term romantic relationship with anyone.”

“What about Peter's mother!” another reporter called out, “Where is she in all this!”

“Peter doesn't have one,” Tony replied, simply. The way he spoke to them, the boy would have thought he was discussing the weather, “He is the product of advanced genetic experimenting in an operation called Project Lucina which has since been shut down. His other parent is my late husband.” And, not surprisingly, this information sent the room into a frenzy. Peter was just about ready to tune him out, when suddenly a sharp feeling shot through the back of his head, instinctively putting him on edge. As if on cue, the far wall crumbled and a figure emerged from it, his four mechanical claws pulling him closer.

“I've got a question, Mr.Stark.” The intruder grinned, scattering the screaming reporters in every direction, “How would you like to help me find myself a spider?”

Peter pushed Tony aside just as the claw reached for him. Tony helped himself to his feet, pulling Peter along with him. “I was beginning to think you'd forgotten all about me, Doctor.” Otto let out a frustrated hiss, making a second go, but Peter sensed the attack and gott Tony out of it's path a second time. Fed up, Otto grabbed ahold of the boy, tossing him against the wall. The impact made a dent, knocking the breath out of him.

“Peter!” Tony exclaimed, reaching for him while the doctor lifted him off the ground. The boy shook his head, slowly recovering. He groggily raised his head and was able to watch just in time as Tony disappeared in the clutches of his enemy.

His heart sped up and he pushed himself to his feet, adrenaline giving him the energy to run after them. He barely made it to the door before a wall of people rose up, blocking him from getting through, “Out of my way! Move! Tony! Tony! _Dad_!”

Someone pulled him back, ending the pursuit before it could really begin. He struggled against his captor, but another person took hold of his second arm, holding him in place. He screamed and kicked, desperate to help.

“Mr. Parker! Mr. Parker, you have to calm down!” a voice said from his right, but he ignored them. His vision blurred and all the struggling had him suddenly weak. His knees gave and the people holding onto him gently lowered him to the ground, hovering close incase he tried to make a run for it. The sounds and noises around him seemed to melt together.

“It'll be alright, Sir.” It was the same voice from before, closer this time. “We will send the professionals after him. We need to take you home. You'll be safe there.” There was no telling what would happen to Tony, now. Peter couldn't help but think of the few times that he'd been under Otto's knife, all which made him feel nauseous. Sure, Tony didn't have any super powers that would make him worth carving up, but that certainly wouldn't stop the doctor. He hadn't felt so helpless as when he was being all but dragged to a limo, probably on his way to imprisonment under the guise of protection. His protests fell on deaf ears.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm about ready to sleep for 397489035q43 years.

When Tony woke, he realized he had no idea when he'd fallen asleep in the first place. The question to that was probably connected to the dull pain in the back of his head, but he dismissed it. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Like how he was tied up to some device, his arms stretched in an uncomfortable manner and his nice suit getting wrinkles. How rude. He wordlessly pulled at the restraints, testing their strength. A chuckle rose up from just beyond his peripheral vision, but no amount of turning make its source visible.

“There is no point in struggling, Mr. Stark,” the voice assured him. Soft keyboard clicks echoed through the room and took hold of Tony's attention. Once the other had spoken, it didn't take long for him to put two and two together. This was probably whatever hideout the not-so-good doctor had set up for himself. A creature crawled into the room from beyond his view, the sound of its metallic body the only thing giving him away.

“Ah. Mr Bryce. You've returned? I thought I told you to go and retrieve Spiderman.”

Tony rolled his eyes. The entire facade was ridiculous. Really, he had no more hold over Spiderman than any other person. The only reason that kid would show up at all is because his sense of duty outranks his self-preservation and even then he would have done it for any citizen. This idiot could have scooped up some random girl from the streets and had a lot easier of a time doing it. Certainly wouldn't have cost Tony his apartment, the first time. For a supposedly evil super villain, his plan was not very well thought through.

“There has been no sign of the spider,” a computerized voice explained, “I have been thinking… If the Spider knows the man, perhaps he knows the boy, too? I could go retrieve the young Parker to draw him out faster.”

“You stay away from Peter!” Tony shouted, his teeth bared. When he got his hands on those things…

The two continued to speak, ignoring Tony's outburst. He put his head back and closed his eyes. Every time he had something he wanted to protect, it always came back to bite him in the ass. Maybe keeping Peter had been the wrong choice. Now, the poor kid was going to be kidnapped and traumatized. He knew himself what kidnapping did to a guy. The world was full of bad people and it certainly only got worse the closer one got to him.

A gentle breeze past his left ear made him open his eyes, widening at the sight he saw. As he opened his mouth to speak, a web shot out to silence him. He stared up at the ceiling, nodding discreetly. Spiderman had arrived and he was going for stealth. The restraints were pulled off him with ease and dangled from the ceiling to avoid making noise. A briefcase was lowered to his view and a bracelet tossed in his direction. Just as he'd managed to get the band around his wrist, a loud exclamation gave them away.

“Spider!”

“Hey-ya, Sting,” the kid quipped, “I was wondering where you got all your gear from! Usually the weirdos with the costumes develop them overtime, so it was interesting to see someone so developed right off the bat. Kinda disappointed you brought the Octopus, though. We were having a cool arachnid club all to ourselves!”

Don't just sit there, idiot! Grab him!” Peter didn't need his spider sense to move out of the way of the claw hurdling towards him, but it pricked the back of him mind, anyways. A second strike of those claw arms had him leaping for a wall and Peter was in reach of Richard, who pounced on the boy and knocked him to the ground. A well placed kick sent the other into the wall he'd just vacated, crumbling it around him. Tony pressed the activation button on his device, but not before being hurdled into a line of shelves.

“Take _that_!” Peter grunted, swinging a spare part into the metallic creature with enough force to crack the outer surface. Richard lay on the ground in a slowly recovering heap, but Otto was more than fine and used Peter's momentary distraction against him, taking hold of the boy and crushing his ribs to force any resistance out of him.

“I'm going to crush you like the bug you are,” the doctor hissed, tightening the grip enough for Peter to let out a painful gasp. He pried at the prongs, but was unable to move them enough to slip free. Tears welled up in his eyes as the sound of a bone cracking filled the air. That was going to hurt like a bitch, later. Just as he thought he was gonna explode like some kind of twisted gogurt, a light zipped past him, knocking Otto off his feet and into a computer of some kind. He momentarily loosened his grip and Peter didn't need to be told to beat it. He was up the wall and around to stand behind Tony before anyone had the chance to blink.

“Thanks,” he muttered, eying the fuming doctor.

“Yeah, well, we're even now,” Tony explained, calmly. Peter nodded. Otto rose from the ground, anger etched across his face and pronounced with a tight jaw. His strikes became uncontrolled, lashing out on the bug that just scattered away each time. A few blasts from Tony had him lose his footing, but Otto returned the favor by knocking him away with his arm. The Ironman was expendable now that Spiderman was in his grasp and Tony listened in annoyance as JARVIS told him his power was down by ten percent, after a pretty painful toss. Peter was trying in vain to tether the claws to the ground or walls with his webs, but Otto just pulled free of them each time. As he closed in on the boy, Tony knelt on the ground aiming his body with precision.

“JARVIS. Activate thrusters… Now!”

Peter had his back to the wall, a very sharp and painful looking claw descending upon him when, suddenly, Otto was gone. For a moment, he stared in stunned silence, until the gaping hole in the roof made itself known. Peter only had a moment to look at it, though, before he too was hurdled through it.

His back hit the pavement, Richard pinning him down. A few yards away, Tony was battling their other adversary and, in every direction, screaming pedestrians were running from the calamity. Shooting a web off to the side, Peter caught hold off a piece of debris and swung the object towards them and knocking Richard away. Another shot had him off the ground, when suddenly something came hurdling past him. He only glanced it for a second, but the design was unmistakable.

As Peter hit the side of the building, his abilities kicking in to hold him in place, his eyes widened behind the mask. There, sitting embedded in the side of the wall after having knocked Richard down with a single blow, was the one and only shield of Captain America.

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was watching Avengers Assemble and, aside from Tony leading the team because eh... I'm surprisingly interested in this. Also thanks to everyone for their kind comments! They are very appreciated. n.n~~

Tony wasn't really sure when he stopped believing in miracles. The logical answer was probably after his parents had died in that frightful car accident, but really it was probably even before that. His father had always been absent. Not cruel, really, but obsessed and neglectful. In itself that was almost worse. If he'd been a cruel man, Tony wouldn't have wanted him around, but he wasn't. He'd been kind and then he'd been gone – It was the worst kind of torture someone could put a kid through; Just a little bit of a good thing. And then, as if the world wasn't cruel enough, both his parents had been taken from him. It was a finality. Harold had died before he'd even gotten to know how badly Tony wanted to be enough for him and, in the end, the boy had been the one to have to deal with it. It'd been a whole whirlwind of stages from trying to be good enough to bring him back to cursing himself for not trying harder when Harold had been alive. His family butler had been a more stable piece in his life – Like the father he'd always wanted – and that had been ripped from his grasp, too.

So, by the time Steve came around, he'd just been getting his life in order. He was gaining the tiniest shreds of real self respect and was opening up to a few people close to him. And man… If Tony didn't see that blue-eyed American dream as the life he was so desperately trying to reach for. The symbol of peace and freedom. World known and loved by all. When he'd spoken, the authority had wrapped around Tony's heart and pleaded with him to obey. The first time he'd heard the Captain laugh, he'd privately compared it to how he imagined angels sounded.

Looking back, Tony realized he'd falsely assumed he knew Steve. The perfect man would never look at him with anything but disgust and the billionaire was determined to get there first. _Can't judge a man who's already above you, Rogers. Ha! That'll show him_. Of course, the plan had crumbled to the ground around him because Captain America might have been perfect, but Steve Rogers sure as hell wasn't. Once Tony had let go of the fairy tale, he'd seen the signs screaming at him so loudly he felt stupid for ever believing the man was anything but broken. Steve had told his story of the time he'd gone to a bar and watched all his buddies get totally wasted around him and Tony couldn't help but wonder how many times had Steve been in a bar, without the friends, trying so desperately to get drunk even though he couldn't. How much alike were they, really?

Meeting Steve had told him a lot of things. Firstly, it helped him come to terms with his father. The most incredible thing about meeting Steve had been Tony realizing he had been enough. He'd always been worried that he'd been the one in the wrong, but once he'd learned that Howard had been obsessed with someone as broken as he was, Tony finally understood. Secondly, it'd allowed him to open up to someone, a lot more than he'd let himself in the past. Steve would pour out his life story every time just to get Tony to open up one. They'd bonded and grew together. It'd been difficult, but they'd managed to overcome their own demons. It was no wonder that Tony fell in love with him and, for the very first time, Tony had absolutely no doubt that the feeling was mutual – Well… Almost no doubt, anyways. Old habits die hard.

But Tony Stark couldn't have anything. He couldn't have happiness, because that'd be exactly what he needed in this dark and cruel world. He'd kneeled beside Steve's body in the field and watched him close him eyes. He'd been standing in the waiting room of the hospital when the nurse informed him of the news. He'd never felt so raw and exposed in his own life. He'd kept Steve as close as possible after the fact because the pain was going to happen anyway. He could at least hold onto the man until his things stopped smelling like him and the places he'd claimed stopped holding his lasting memory. He was still in the middle of that when Peter showed up. Peter, who'd practically _been_ half Steve. If ever there was something to hold onto, it'd been that kid. If he'd thought about it, he'd notice he'd become as obsessed with the super soldier as his own father had been.

The sounds of whooping drew Tony's attention away from Otto for a moment and his brow furrowed at the sudden appearance of Sam, dressed to the nines in his full falcon get-up. He launched at Otto as someone began pulling Tony to his feet. He recognized the other as a friend of Steve's – Bruce? Bryan? Buick? - who'd been to see them once or twice when he'd still been alive. His metal arm gripped Tony's and brought him to a standing position.

“Don't worry about me. I'm fine. The kid-” Tony began, only to be cut off.

“He's fine. Steve has him.” The other insisted, and like that Tony froze. His entire world stopped, unable to process the information. He looked just in time to see a man approaching a shield lodged in a wall. The blonde hair was moving slightly in the wind and he had his head tilted back so he could talk up to the vigilante currently scaling a building.

“Stark,” the man beside him snapped, shaking him a bit, “Snap out of it. Falcon can only hold off this guy for so long. How do we defeat him?”

“I don't know!” Tony snapped back, overwhelmed, “It's the kid's archenemy – Ask him.” The man – Bucky! That's what it was – growled and pressed a button on the device in his ear.

“Captain. Ask the kid how to take this guy down.” The man quieted, probably to listen to the response before nodding, “Sure thing. Just hurry up and figure it out.”

“What he say?”

“To distract it. Spider has an idea,” Bucky replied, rolling back into shoulders and charging after the doctor as he made futile attempts to knock Sam out of the sky, “Lets go.”

A stone's throw down the street, Spiderman was webbing up Richard, keeping him from getting in their way. He kept making unsure glances in the captain's direction. It was thing to see your idol standing before you, having seemingly conquered death, but this entire situation screamed wrong. Steve was supposed to be dead and there were only a few reasons why. Either an evil force had learned to raise the dead and they were all totally screwed or Steve had really been alive this whole time and Peter was gonna be totally pissed at him for putting Tony through that. He'd been a pretty decent dad so far – Even if he made Peter go to some annoying press conference – and _no one_ deserved to have their loved ones die.

“What's the plan, Spiderman?” Steve questioned, fitting his shield over his arm. A web landed on the ground and Peter pulled himself to stand in front of him. Family issues could wait until later. They had to deal with this, first.

“Well, his primary method of attack is his arms,” Peter explained, crawling up a bus stop shelter to get a better view of the fight going on across the street. His dad and two strangers were keeping the man busy, “Usually, if you crush one or two of them, he is useless and goes running. One time, he had a building fall on him and that kept him down for a while. The arms are attached to the device on his back and if he could pull them off, they'd be useless, but I've never been able to do it, myself. He always flings me off and it hurts like a bi… I mean it hurts a lot.”

“Yeah, well, you've never fought with my team before,” Steve pointed out. He pressed the intercom in his ear, “Guys! The arms are his weakness. Me and Spider are heading over, now. If you four can keep him distracted, I can pull them out.”

“Oh. Cool. Sounds like it'll work,” Peter admitted, glancing over at him, “Hey, uh… I know now isn't really the time, but you think you could do that thing where you launch people on your shield? I've always wanted to try that.” Steve gave him a look and Peter shook his head, “Right. Of course. Maybe later.” Shooting his web out, Peter swung himself towards the ongoing battle, leaving the captain to catch up.

 


	18. Chapter 18

The plan seemed to be going fantastic, at first. Sam, Bucky, Tony and Peter each took one arm while Steve crept up the back, pulling one off and causing the doctor to cry out in pain. Realizing their plan, he picked up Steve and tossed him into a building. Tony didn't even have to time to go after him before he was picked up and thrown directly through one of Sam's wings. Bucky was a little faster to get out of the way, but Peter wasn't so lucky. Again, the doctor had him in his mechanical claws and began squeezing the life out of him. Steve, having recovered, picked up his shield and threw it with practiced precision at the creature, but the Doctor saw it coming and moved Peter in the way of the attack, making him loose his already short breath. A spare claw clamped around his throat and then his torso was released for the better grip. He scratched at the metal, but was weakened by his lack of breath.

The doctor managed to scurry away on two mechanical arms. The detached one lay useless in the street. Tony, just starting to recover, sent a blast after the retreating figure, only to be tackled by Sam and Bucky and knocking his aim off.

“What the hell!?” he demanded, struggling to push them off as he made to a second go. The both barely managed to hold him down.

“He's using Spider as a shield!” Bucky explained, “If you shoot at him, you're gonna hurt the kid! You dumbass!”

“He's already hurting him!” Tony hissed.

“Tony.”

The voice made the billionaire pause, glancing up at the man moving towards him with a pained look on his face. Slowly, the two holding him down backed off. Tony lifted his mask, his eyes large and unsure. Steve knelt down in front of him, a faint smile playing at his lips, “I missed you.”

“What…?” Tony croaked, not even sure what questions to ask first. Steve settled a hand against his cheek, understanding and love practically radiating off him.

“Shh. There will be plenty of time for talking later. We have to get you home,” Steve explained, sounding more serious, but still smiling, “We need to think of a plan. Also, Peter is probably worried sick about you. He was taken back to the tower by your security guards.”

Tony made something that was a halfway between a cough and a sigh, slowly rising to his feet, “Right. Okay. Peter. Gotta make sure Peter is safe.” He slid his mask back into place and the other three rose around him, “Can you all make it to the tower on your own?”

“We'll be there soon. Go,” Steve promised. Tony nodded, swallowing heavily before he took off, headed for home. Arrival was moments later and he landed on the pad, his gear being pulled off like he designed it to. Rushing inside, he was met with the sight of three or four men standing in his kitchen, talking.

“Peter?” he gasped, short of breath.

“Mr. Stark!” one of them exclaimed, moving towards him. He angrily waved them off and repeated himself.

“He went to his room. Hasn't been out since,” another one explained, pointing his thumb down the hall. Tony didn't need to be told twice, already headed in that direction. Upon reaching the door, Tony was annoyed to find it locked.

“JARVIS. Open the door to Peter's room,” he commanded, twisting the knob again.

“I can't, Sir.”

“What do you mean, you can't?” Tony demanded. He laid a kick against the surface, but that did nothing. Understandable, really, since he designed it that way. Didn't stop him from trying again, though.

“It seems Master Peter has hacked into my system,” JARVIS explained, “He removed all the feed in his room and locked the doors. He also went ahead and deleted several important files regarding himself, Sir.”

“What?” Tony felt lightheaded all of a sudden, “Peter! Peter open up! It's Tony! Young man-”

He was cut off by the sudden appearance of Steve, slightly disheveled from running the whole way. Tony grabbed him by the arm and pushed him towards the door, frantically, “Wha-?”

“Get it off!” Tony commanded, panic flooding through him, “Right now, Steve! I don't care how. I need in that room!”

“Okay! Okay...” Steve maneuvered him back before landing a boot flat against the door, kicking a large hole right through the middle. A few pulls later and the space was clear, the door laying in shambles in the hall with a very confused Steve. Tony brushed past him, scouting out the room. His computer sat open on his desk, running some kind of program that must have been how Peter broke into the system. Other than the open window, the room looked otherwise untouched. Tony was across the room and looking out the window in horror.

“Did something take him?” Tony demanded, more talk to himself than anyone else, “This window's on the twelfth floor! He can't just jump out!”

“No,” Steve said, quietly, “But maybe he crawled out.” Tony spun to face him and Steve held up something in return. Tony took it in his hand, inspecting the weblike material with confusion.

“Spiderman took him?” Tony concluded. He had a feeling that wasn't what Steve was getting at, but he didn't want to think about the alternative.

“Tony,” Steve moved forward, holding his face in his hands, “Tony, calm down. We'll get him back.”

“Oh god.” He felt sick all of a sudden.

“Tony...”

“Oh _god_.”

 


	19. Chapter 19

Peter couldn't feel anything at first. For a moment, he thought he was safe at home, the morning light peering in through the window. When the light moved away and he groggily opened his eyes, however, that delusion faded. A dark and cluttered lab stood before him. A computer sat slightly off to the side. Three mechanical arms whizzed by him, filling in the holes in his memory. Just as he put two and two together, the pain kicked in and he couldn't but let out a groan, unable to curl in on himself like he wanted to because of the restraints on his arms.

“Oh, you're awake,” Otto cooed, walking around Peter with a smirk, “I was tempted to find out your identity when I brought you here, but decided it would be much better when you were up. I have to grab a few things from the other room, so hopefully you'll be a bit more responsive when I return.” Peter couldn't even bring himself to lift his head. His entire person felt as if it was on fire. Breathing was proving to be difficult and he felt heavy. His vision blurred with tears he tried to hold back as he looked for an escape.

“JARVIS,” Peter managed in a raspy voice.

“Sir.” Peter gave a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure how the hacking would affect his communicator. In reality, it should have killed the connection. As if reading his thoughts, JARVIS spoke, again, “Master Tony reset the system, Sir.”

“He must realize I'm not there, now,” Peter murmured, a few tears spilled over, leaving a small trail down his cheek.

“He knows everything, Sir. Captain Rogers is with him.”

“Good. I'm glad,” Peter croaked. He couldn't lose it. Not yet.

“Sir, your vitals are fluctuating. You need to get home immediately.”

“Yeah. Wish I could,” Peter replied, pulling weakly at his restraints and finding no give. If anything, it irritated his sore shoulder and made him hiss in pain, “I'm not getting out of this one so easily, Buddy.”

“Sir-” JARVIS began, but Peter cut him off.

“Can you patch me through to Tony?”

“Of course, Sir.” The was a few seconds of silence before Tony's voice carried over the device. He sounded miserable, probably barely holding himself together. Peter could practically see the way his whole expression was morphed into angry confusion, trying to hold it together.

“Peter? Where the hell are you?”

“Dad…? Don't be mad,” Peter whispered, clenching his teeth as he shifted slightly. There was silence on the other end. Probably Tony collecting himself. Peter would have liked to give him the time, but he really didn't have it. “Dad. _Please_.”

“I'm not mad, Peter.” Tony didn't sound all that convincing, but Peter let himself believe him anyways. He still wanted to get out of here, but… Just incase…

“I'm sorry,” Peter sniffled. He wanted to wipe his face, but having his arms tied back and a mask over it made that kind of impossible. He really hoped Tony would forgive him. It would suck to die on bad terms with the man.

“We can talk about that later. Right now, I need you to tell me where you are,” Tony instructed, sounding desperate, but softer. Like he was trying not to scare the boy.

“I dunno.”

“What do you see around you, Peter?”

He took deep breath, shooting pain through his chest. With blurry vision, he took in the room, “Some kind of lab. There's a bunch of junk all over the place – It looks pretty abandoned in here. There's a kind of computer thing… I can't see it really well. Also it's humid. I can barely breath and it's not just because my throat was crushed.” He managed a weak chuckle, “Actually, I think I might have broken a rib, too. It hurts to breath. That's usually a sign, right?”

“ _Peter_ ,” Tony exclaimed, making the boy flinch, “Focus! You're going to be fine, alright? JARVIS? Can you trace the call?”

“I'm sorry, Sir,” his voice crackled over the earpiece and Peter assumed it was from Tony's side of the call, “My system has not been full rebooted, yet. If you can keep him on for another ten minutes or so, I should be able to.”

“Alright, Peter. Just stay with us,” Tony said. Peter could feel the sweat dripping down his face, making his suit all clammy. The sweat mixed with a couple of scratches that probably had been a lot worse earlier. No doubt he was going to be so sick later. Maybe the doctor would be merciful enough to kill him before that happened.

“Dad… JARVIS said Captain America was there.”

“Yeah. He's here, Peter.”

“Can I talk to him?” Again, there was silence and Peter thought maybe he'd say no, “ _Dad_ -”

“Hey, Peter.” The voice wasn't Tony's and after a second Peter recognized it as the one he'd been talking to earlier. A small half-smile half-grimace landed on his face.

“Hey. I'm Peter Parker. In case they haven't told you this, yet... I'm your son.”

“They've debriefed me,” Steve answered. He sounded a lot different than Tony did. He was calm and collected. For a moment Peter was a little hurt he wasn't more upset, but then he remembered that Steve didn't even know him, let alone consider him a son.

“Right. Of course they did,” Peter muttered, his voice caught in his throat. It was stupid to think now was a time for touching reunions. They hadn't even _known_ about him, as Coulson had told him. Peter had searched his entire life for his parents and as he's awaiting death he's talking to one like they're a stranger. In reality, they both were. He barely had known Tony more than a month or two, “I'm sorry. I was kind of just hoping tha-”

“I know it might be a little out of place,” Steve interrupted him. Peter furrowed his brow in confusion, “We barely know one another, but I'm very proud of you, Peter. You've done a lot of good for a lot of people. When your father and I come to get you, I'll tell you in person, but I'm very proud to call you my son.”

Peter could feel his hands shake and the sniffles that built up started sounding a lot more like quiet sobs. Sure, they barely knew one another, but he'd made someone _proud_ and he never heard someone say that after he came home after fighting his hardest and crawling into bed with enough bruises to have him aching for days. No one had been proud of him when he couldn't keep awake during the day because he hadn't slept all night and had a secret identity to keep. Sure, he'd kept it from people to protect them, but that also meant he didn't get praise for the things he'd done. Police officers called him a vigilante punk and the newspapers called him a menace; There wasn't a lot of people who were _proud_ of _Spiderman_.

“Thanks, Pops,” Peter tried to brush it off like a joke, but it didn't come out right and the tears falling down his face weren't helping.

“Oh, _Spiderman_ ,” the doctor called in a sing-songy way. Peter felt his chest tighten up and he closed his eyes, stealing himself for the inevitable.

“JARVIS. Hang up the call.”

“Peter!” Tony's voice objected on the other end, “Are you out of your mind? We need the call to track you!”

“JARVIS, _please_! They can't hear this.” Peter hissed, the doctor was closing in on him, now. Tony's rant was suddenly cut short and he released a breath. It only lasted a minute as a metal claw closed around his arm, making him let out a cry as it jostled around an already apparent injury.

“It seems you're finally with us now,” Otto noted, his claw reaching for the boy's face, “It's time to demask the Spiderman once and for all.”

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was another little snippet I wrote in between here involving Steve and Tony, but it was really bad and I was like nah, so I edited it out. Apologies to those of you hoping for that. Good news, though, we get some protective Bucky in here. ;)

Peter felt awful. He felt worse than awful. He hadn't felt this horrible since… Ever, really. There wasn't a single part of him that didn't ache and even his pride had been crushed beneath the doctor's foot – More specifically, his mask. He let his head rest on his chest, trying to focus on breathing. His arms pulled against his restraints with each inhale and he had to stifle the broken sobs, knowing they would only make things worse.

Otto stood grumbling over his computer, thinking himself a little foolish for not figuring out Spiderman's identity on his own. Not only was the kid literally the son of Tony Stark – the father-son relationship between Spider and Iron suddenly made sense – but it seemed every part of his pathetic life correlated with the webslinger. He'd even taken pictures of himself for the Daily Bugle, for a while. And the doctor had had the boy in his hands at the press conference! This whole ordeal could have been avoided and he wouldn't have had to loose an arm for it to happen.

Well, no matter. He had what he wanted and there was nothing to stop him, now. A needle was picked up from a collection nearby and he approached the teen, who didn't even bother to look up. “Aw, what is the matter, Peter?” He didn't answer, trying to ignore the pain shooting through him that the needle caused as it broke skin.

“I know,” Otto admitted, watching the blood flow out of the boy with interest, “You're thinking of your family, aren't you? Ironman and the patriotic posterboy? I assure you I will take care of them soon enough.”

“Leave them alone,” Peter croaked. The action left a nauseous feeling coursing through him, but he ignored it. The doctor caressed his cheek with a partially open claw.

“Perhaps I might have considered if you hadn't dragged them into it,” Otto murmured, “Maybe if you had come crawling to me like a good little Spider, then I would have let them live, but you made your messes and now I'm going to clean them up.”

“You can't-” Peter shot his head up, only to be interrupted by a handful of coughs that wracked through his body. He couldn't bring himself to do it, again, but continued talking, “...Can't kill them. They're-”

“Captain America and Ironman?” Otto finished, an amused look on his face. He brought his claw across the boy's cheek, cutting a small slash into it. It was only a superficial wound, but it was also meant to be a warning, “Please. That didn't stop me from getting you and escaping them last time.”

“No,” a familiar voice said, “But this might.”

Otto shot his head towards the sound, enraged. Peter was too weak to do the same, but suddenly his heart beat a little faster in excitement. He knew that voice. _He knew that voice_.

The doctor screeched when an electrical surge suddenly had his arms falling uselessly to the side. Tony, who'd been the source of said voice, came down to one knee, the armor suddenly much heavier than usual. Steve didn't waste a second on decending upon him alongside Sam. Bucky was left to the task of Peter, pulling his restraints off with ease and gently tossing the boy over his shoulder. He started for the exit, making the younger hero panic.

“Gotta help-”

“No way in hell, Kid,” Bucky said, tightening his grip. Peter was too weak to pull himself free, but he did manage to shoot a web out, catching onto his mask which still lay on the floor. Clutching the material tightly in his hands, he was forced to watch the scene shrink behind him. Steve had managed to get one more of the arms off, but the system could only stay down for so long and he was already flinging them off, Sam crashing into the wall just beside the escape. Steve lay in a pile beside the recovering Ironman. Tony looked briefly in Peter's direction before the rounded a corner and disappeared.

“Peter Parker!” Otto cried out in rage, “No matter where you go! No matter how far away you run! I will find you! I will _destroy_ you!”

“Yeah, over my dead body,” Tony hissed, coming to stand. The system in his suit was beginning to boot back up from the virus he'd set off. It was only meant to be temporary, so that meant the doctor was feeling the effects wear off, too.

“ _That_ can be arranged,” Otto hissed, standing on his own two feet. The remaining two claws spun beside him, fast enough that it would at least put a dent in Tony's suit. He wasn't going to stop for that, though. No, he intended to go home to Peter after this whole event was over. He knew _firsthand_ what it was like to have to come home everyday with the death of a loved one floating over you. Unlike some people – His glance landed momentarily on Steve – he wasn't a self-sacrificing _idiot_.

“Systems fully restored, Sir,” JARVIS informed him, accompanied by a small jumping icon to the left that said much of the same, “Power is above 90 percent.”

“Well, Doc,” Tony clenched his fists, the bottom of his feet lighting up with the building energy, “I hope you're ready for your check up. Your _reality check_ up.” His suit activated, shooting him full force at the other. No amount of shielding his face could stop him from being propelled backwards and straight through a wall. Steve and Sam were quick to follow, descending upon the weakened man as Tony stood on his chest, blasters pointed threatening at his face. The last two arms were pulled from their place, leaving the man defenseless. He cried out in anguish, vowing his revenge. Tony narrowed his eyes, considering taking this monster out once and for all. He's threatened his family, traumatized his son and probably caused enough damage to New York to seriously cut into his me money.

“Tony,” Steve drew his attention, “Tony, it's over. We've won. We're done here.” The man in question looked up to see his husband, a frown settling on his face from behind the mask. Slowly, he removed his foot from the doctor and Sam pulled Otto to his feet, twisting his arms behind his back.

“Let's go,” Steve suggested, putting a hand on his shoulder and gently nudging him towards the exit.

“Peter?” Tony asked, too busy keeping himself together to say much else. The emotions he'd been suppressing in order to get the job done began bubbling to the surface and all of them were overwhelming.

“He's alive. Bucky has him. He's _fine_.” Tony didn't need to be told twice. His suit started up and he was on his way out before anyone could get a word in edgewise. Steve started running after him, leaving Sam to follow in the back, urging a captured villain out.

When they made it to the surface, the first responders were just arriving on the scene. The NYPD poured out of their vehicles, surrounding the emerging heroes and assessing the situation. Otto was taken into their custody and pushed into one of the police cars with a few officers standing guard. Bucky stood slightly off to the side, Peter curled up in his arms and clutching onto the man's shirt as if for dear life, barely able to keep his eyes open despite coaxing to do so. The mask had been secured over his face to prevent anyone from discovering his identity, but Peter was too out of it to even notice. In fact, Bucky had been the one to do it, just before they had met the light of day. If he hadn't seen the kid in action, he would never have believed this was the same Spiderman that saved this city time and again. Peter, who was barely breathing in his arms, just seemed like a very lost little boy. It reminded him so much of Steve when they'd been younger that he suddenly felt a growing protective streak for the son of his best friend. Whatever it took, he had to make _absolute sure_ that nothing happened to this kid.

Tony arrived at the same time as the paramedics, refusing to leave Peter's side the moment that he laid eyes on him. He found himself sitting in the ambulance, still mostly dressed in his suit. A few others were gathered around the boy. Peter's mask was rolled up to his nose to allow for an oxygen mask, but they hadn't been able to remove it entirely, due to the insistence of Bucky.

“Tony!” Steve arrived onto the scene next, drawing not just his attention, but the attention of just about every other person there. Several people gawked. As far as any of them knew, the super soldier was dead. He, too, climbed into the ambulance, which was beginning to feel very cluttered. They both looked down at the barely breathing boy. They had intended to ride with him to the hospital, but Bucky had other ideas.

“You guys can't be seen with him,” he insisted, moving slightly out of the way so a paramedic could get back into the vehicle. “The risk is too great. If you're there, everyone is going to know his secret identity.”

“So?” Tony demanded, “To hell with his secret identity! It's not like he's getting away with this, again! This stupid hero business is the last thing I'm letting him get caught up in!”

“Just because _you_ don't care whether or not your enemies show up at your door doesn't mean everyone feels that way!” Bucky snapped, “He's trying to protect people! You could learn a thing or two from him!”

“Tony, he's right.” Steve cut off any further argument, “We can't go with him. It's too suspicious.”

“The hell it is!” Tony objected. Several nearby people turned to look at the exclamation.

“I'll go,” Bucky offered, helping Steve climb down, “I'll stay with him the entire time. I'll keep his identity safe and no one will suspect anything if I go. _I'm_ not a public figure like you and Steve are.”

“Tony.” How many times had Steve said his name since he'd come back? Tony had lost count. “Listen. We'll meet him at the hospital. We can trust Bucky. He's not going to let anything happen to Peter. I promise.”

Tony looked down at the boy, his mask sliding away. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Peter's forehead, eyes watering but not quite spilling over. Peter made a small noise in return, which definitely would have been an embarrassed squawk had he been well, but sounded an awful lot like a broken whimper, now.

Bucky was a lot more gentle with his next words, probably influenced by the look Steve was giving him, “Stark. Listen. Peter's a strong kid. He's a lot like his dads – Too stupid to know when to quit. He will be alright.”

Somehow, after a little more gentle coaxing from Steve, they managed to get Tony out and the ambulance was off with Bucky inside before he could change his mind. Tony found himself pulled into Steve's chest, metal pressing uncomfortably into the super soldier's skin, but he ignored it. They stayed like that for a while. The sirens and flashing lights playing around them seemed like they belonged to a whole different world.

 


	21. Chapter 21

It was daytime when Peter started to wake up, if the light poking in through the blinds was anything to go by. He felt a little sore and his nose was stuffed, but otherwise he had thought he was perfectly fine. It was a little alarming then, when he looked around, to find himself in a hospital bed. An IV was hooked up to his arm and a small mountain of both eaten and unopened jello containers littered the nearby table. Glancing beside him, he took notice of Tony, who was sleeping half sprawled on the bed, and Steve, who had his head tossed back and his arms crossed on the other side of him. Deciding the latter was his safest bet, he leaned over to shake Steve into joining him in the land of the living. “Hey… Uh… Cap'n? Hello?”

Steve yawned and stretched his neck a bit before slowly opening his eyes. Upon seeing Peter staring at him with a confused expression, he gave a soft smile, “Well, well, well. Look who decided to finally get up. How are you feeling, Kiddo?”

Peter, still kind of confused, shrugged, “A little sore, but I'll live. Why am I in a hospital?”

Steve, furrowed his brow, leaning closer and placing a hand on Peter's arm, “Peter… What's the last thing you remember?”

“Fighting Doctor Octopus with you guys,” Peter muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, “It's kind of all a little blurry after that… I think he got ahold of me, but I must have escaped if I'm here.”

“The doctors said you might have a little difficulty at first. You had a pretty serious concussion and the whole event was definitely traumatic. Just take your time.”

For a moment, he wasn't sure that Steve meant, but almost immediately the memories started to take shape and he felt sick. It was like a fog had cleared and Peter really would have been better off not knowing what was lying inside of it.

“I think I'm gonna hurl,” he muttered, lying down and curling into himself. Steve rubbed circles into his back and Peter was silently grateful for it. After a moment to process the information, Steve disappeared from behind him and Peter looked over, a little sad at the loss.

“It's alright. I'm not going anywhere,” Steve chuckled, sitting back down and holding up a few jello cups and a spoon, “I know it's not the best thing in the world, but the doctor's said we should try and get you to eat something when you wake up. You haven't eaten a proper meal in about two days, now.”

“Two days?” Peter questioned, sitting up and accepting one of the jello cups and the spoon. He pulled the top off and put some in his mouth. It was pretty tasteless, but the substance didn't scratch at his throat, which he was starting to realize was aching as well.

“You have been in and out. I doubt you would remember much,” Steve explained, reaching forward and brushing some of Peter's hair out of his face. He grumbled about it, but didn't push the captain away, “When you came in, your accelerated healing had already kicked in, but within the first two hours, you had a dangerously high temperature. It started to go down a little last night, but the doctors wanted to keep you a little longer to make sure you weren't just gonna go back into it.”

“Oh.” Peter considered this, the spoon pressed against the inside of his cheek. He had come home plenty of nights with a serious headache or nausea or the occasional cold as a result the next morning, but those things didn't usually warrant a trip to the hospital. Most days, that wasn't even enough to keep him from school.

“I assumed it was probably a side effect of the spider thing, but we wanted to be sure.”

At that, Peter froze. It suddenly dawned on him that his parents _knew_. They knew about his secret identity and about his whole superhero gig. Peter glanced over at Tony with fear in his eyes, suddenly very glad he'd decided to wake Steve up, first.

Having caught this whole change, Steve let out a small laugh and ruffled Peter's hair, “Yes, Peter. We know all about Spiderman. You should feel grateful that Bucky had enough sense to keep the whole city from finding out.”

“He's gonna kill me, isn't he?” Peter mumbled, suddenly not very hungry anymore. He tried to hand the jello back, but Steve refused to accept it.

The super soldier's expression grew serious, “Not a chance. You eat that. As for Tony, he was just worried about you. He doesn't like losing and hates losing people, especially. I could only imagine it was hard after me. He's going to be upset with you when he does wake up, but don't misunderstand. He's very proud of you, too. We both are.”

“ _Pwoud_?” Peter repeated the word, his mouth full. Steve had given him a look when he'd stopped eating and he didn't want to risk getting on the captain's bad side as well.

“Yes, Peter. Proud. You've done a very selfless thing, saving people and using your power for good. I am sure you were very tempted to go down a different path, but in the end you did the right thing.” Steve's fingers were carding through his hair now, but Peter didn't have the heart to object to it, his eyes wide. It wasn't any less meaningful to hear these words the second time. “You father and I are concerned for you, of course, but don't misinterpret that. I know he would agree that we couldn't have been blessed with a better son. I'm just sorry it took so long for us to meet him.”

Peter lowered his jello, momentarily setting it and the spoon aside. His vision began to blur and before he knew it his face was buried in Steve's shoulder, quiet sobs shaking him. A hand settled against the back of his head, holding him close, while the other rubbed his back. For someone who carried as much hardship on his shoulders as Peter did, he didn't feel very much like an adult. All of a sudden, he wanted nothing more than to be a little kid in his father's arms and be coddled like a child. For just a little while, he wanted to forget about his responsibilities and told it would all be okay. Steve was happy to comply with that.

The sniffling had woken Tony, who grunted and blinked open his eyes, trying his best to clear the sleep out of them. Peter pulled away, slightly, when he heard Tony, but didn't let go entirely. He wasn't ready to going back to being the unstoppable Spiderman just yet.

His first reaction was relief, followed by rage, but that quickly melted away into something else when he saw the tears in Peter's eyes. It was a tender feeling in the very core of his heart and it took Tony a moment to realize it was love. For what time they'd had together, Tony had come to love Peter for Peter. Not because he was like Steve, but because he was his little baby boy. It'd just taken a near death experience for him to realize it.

Before anyone could speak, Tony was on the other side of the bed, taking a seat beside Peter on it and pulling the boy into his chest. He pressed a kiss against Peter's hairline, trying very hard not to cry.

“Tony?” Peter murmured, confused but he still returned the hug. When the other didn't answer, he tried, again. “Dad?”

“I'm happy you're alright, Peter,” he said, closing his eyes and holding the boy a little closer. Peter didn't know what to say to that, so he just stayed quiet. A few seconds went by before Steve joined the hug, holding the two of them. Tony buried his face in Steve's shoulder, his breathing strained. Peter found himself wedged between the two, but he didn't really mind. For so long, Peter had searched, trying to find were he belonged in this world, but it had finally been shown to him.

For the first time in his life, Peter realized, he truly felt like he'd come home.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. 
> 
> He probably was grounded for 34938523 years after they got home from the hospital, so that's why the sequel happens years into the future... Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but there will be a sequel!
> 
> I'm thinking a more Spideypool centric fic. I've actually already got the first chapter and a half done, so keep your eyes out for "Just Like You" in the near future!


	22. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG I ALMOST FORGOT THE SETUP FOR THE NEXT STORY WHOOPS.

Otto Octavius didn't get a lot of visitors, where he was staying. Generally, the outside world wasn't allowed in these walls, but a powerful man like himself? He had fans dedicated enough to find their ways. The door to his cell creaked open and a smirk spread across his face, but he did not bother to look up at the new arrival. His hair had grown out since he'd been imprisoned and it draped over his face, hiding his eyes.

“Doctor Octavius,” the man said, dressed up in his own doctoral scrubs and holding a clipboard, “I assume you know why I'm here.”

“Of course, Doctor Price. For my weekly checkin.”

“Check up, Doctor. Your weekly checkup.”

“Right. Of course. How do I look to you?”

“Well,” the doctor flipped to a second page on his clipboard, considering the information, “We returned your sample to the lab and were able to find something interesting in your blood.”

“Is that so? You've already begun running the tests?”

“Indeed. They all came back positive.”

“Excellent. I suppose you'll be releasing this information to the public, soon?”

“We're looking for the correct sources now, Doctor.” Doctor Price approached him, kneeling before Otto like he was observing him, “Though, there is concerns that the information is not something fit for the public, yet. We may have to try editing it, first. This will take time.”

“Unfortunate. You will need more samples for this, I assume?”

“Most likely.”

“What of the nurse from before? Bryce? They were very _helpful_.”

Doctor Price sighed, standing up with a grimace on his face, “Bryce had to take time off for a family matter and we couldn't have that so we were forced to let him go.”

Otto mimicked his expression, “How unfortunate. He was particularly good at his job.”

“If you were permitting, I'd like to run a few tests of my own.”

“Would you?” Otto scoffed, somewhat amused, “Well, I suppose I can allow that. Just don't let it come back to me.”

“Of course, Doctor.” They exchanged a civilized nod, Doctor Price wrote something down on his clipboard and then he exited the way he'd come in. A few guards stood outside Otto's holding cell, but he paid them no mind as he walked down the hall. Sure that he wasn't being followed, Doctor Price removed his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

“Boss,” the voice on the other end greeted him, “We found the guy you were telling us about. The scaley one.”

“Excellent,” Price let an approving smile settle on his features, “I have just been given approval from the director to carry out my footnotes on Project Venom. We need more samples if we intend to get anywhere with it. See to it that you don't disappoint me.”

“Of course, Sir.”

The call ended and Doctor Price reviewed his clipboard once, again. Stopping on one page, he grinned at the information there, fingers pressed gently to the paper. While the idea may have originated from Otto Octavius' mind, this creation was all his own and was far superior to it's predecessors. It was more chaotic and more frightful than the infamous Venom had been. The host he'd chosen was another patient of his, a man by the name of Cletus. All in all, a more beautiful monster couldn't have been created.

The name of the creature was printed at the top of the page, enclosed in a yellow box. How many nights had the doctor scribbled away at Otto's old work? How long had he been designing such a creature? The answer was uncertain, but it had become an obsession of his. It would be his legacy that brought so much pain and misery. The whole world would eventually cower at its very name.

_Carnage_.

 


End file.
